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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953142">your kisses taste metallic and i'm a little bit addicted (i've been a gold digger my whole life)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/phenomenology/pseuds/phenomenology'>phenomenology</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Balcony Scene, Battle, Blood, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Crying, Dancing, F/F, Fake Character Death, First Kiss, Gift Giving, Implied Sexual Content, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Kissing, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Morning Cuddles, Nightmares, Party, Prompt Fill, Sleepy Cuddles, Team as Family, spoilers for e107, spoilers for e111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:55:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25953142</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/phenomenology/pseuds/phenomenology</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>50 types of kisses prompt fills because i'm a helpless gay and so are beauyasha</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Beauregard Lionett/Yasha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>306</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>822</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. littered kisses</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>prompt 1: small kisses littered across the other's face</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The soft puffs of breath against Yasha’s clavicle were the first thing to register upon waking. She hummed low and soft at the sensation, eyes fluttering open where she was wrapped around Beau and cocooned in blankets. Golden, late morning light spilled in through the window by their bed, sun motes drifting in lazy spirals through the sunbeams as Yasha’s consciousness slowly filtered into further wakefulness. Beau had one leg thrown over Yasha’s hips, so the taller woman was careful about stretching her legs long. She grunted with the satisfying pull in her muscles that only came after a restful night, ankles and knees cracking.</p><p>Beau huffed against Yasha’s skin with the light jostling and shifted closer, nose bumping against Yasha’s chest. Smiling small and fond down at the woman in her arms, Yasha leaned back just enough to admire Beau without completely dislodging her sleepy clinging.</p><p>The monk’s hair was still tied up, but rumpled and loose, messy from being pressed into a pillow all night. Her features were smooth in her peace, making Beau look soft as grey shadows slanted gently against the sunlight on Beau’s olive skin. Yasha could just see the curling jade edges of filigree from Beau’s tattoo that peaked around the back of her neck. Unable to help herself, she reached out to trace reverent fingers over the sparkling pattern. Touch trailing up into the tight shave of Beau’s undercut, Yasha’s lips quirked with a grin when Beau twitched in her sleep and grunted as she woke up.</p><p>Yasha continued her gentle ministration, brushing her fingertips over the fuzz of hair near the base of Beau’s neck. She watched as the woman’s eyes fluttered open, those stunning, bright blues—blurry with sleep—locking onto Yasha almost immediately. The simple action sent a jolt of adoration through the Aasimar’s chest, her ribs seeming too tight for her heart.</p><p>“Mornin’,” Beau said, voice rough with her half conscious state. It felt like a gift to witness her like this, because Beau was always awake with the dawn. Before any of the rest of them even thought of waking up, Beau was up and about long before the colors of sunrise had even faded from the sky. Yasha was never the first one to wake up between them, so she took this gentle moment and tucked it carefully among her memories.</p><p>“Good morning,” Yasha murmured, hand coming around to cup at Beau’s cheek that wasn’t smushed against Yasha’s arm.</p><p>“What time’s it?” Beau mumbled, even as she leaned into Yasha’s touch and seemed ready to fall back to sleep.</p><p>“I’m not sure,” Yasha whispered, fighting a smile as Beau yawned and tucked closer to the Aasimar. “I haven’t been up long.”</p><p>“Don’t wanna get up yet,” Beau groused, as if Yasha were trying to pull the monk from bed. On the contrary, Yasha felt perfectly content to stay tucked up like this with Beau for as long as she might get away with it. At some point she expected the rest of their party to come knocking, eager to go about the day and move on to wherever their feet carried them next. They hadn’t had a period of aimless wandering without a goal for a while now; so they were happily taking advantage of the lack of expectation weighed upon them for the moment. Perhaps everyone slept in this morning, because they had been out late last night drinking and reminiscing and relaxing for the first time in months.</p><p>Yasha stroked an absent thumb over Beau’s cheekbone and felt finally settled. It was a strange sensation. For so many years there had been this restless itch beneath her skin, like a storm on the verge of breaking, like humidity climbing without relief. Before the Mighty Nein, before Beau, Yasha had been a storm on the cusp of breaking, with no relief in sight—stuck in a limbo of longing and grief. But now the jagged pieces of herself felt washed smooth, and she wasn’t a storm, but a gentle rain.</p><p>She felt finally herself.</p><p>Overwhelmed with affection, Yasha carefully pushed Beau away from her, rolling the half asleep monk onto her back so that Yasha could lean over her. Beau blinked up at her with sleepy confusion, mouth halfway open to likely voice either a protest or a concerned question, but Yasha acted first. Leaning down, braids and dreads cascading over one shoulder and tickling at Beau’s skin, the Aasimar pressed a careful kiss to the tip of Beau’s nose, fighting a smile as she did. As she pulled back just enough to look at Beau without going cross-eyed, she couldn’t help but give a soft laugh at the startled look on Beau’s face.</p><p>“What was that for?” Beau asked, sounding breathless.</p><p>“Because,” Yasha murmured even as she leaned down to press another kiss to Beau’s cheek. “I care for you.” Yasha passed the words between the first kiss to Beau’s cheek and another to the opposite. She didn’t have the words to explain everything she was feeling. She wouldn’t even try, honestly, because she was not eloquent at the best of times—and she would just end up a flushed and stuttering mess, anyway. She was always better at doing than explaining. So she shifted her weight to lean a little more comfortably over Beau and continued to pepper adoring kisses across Beau’s face.</p><p>She repeated the kiss to the tip of Beau’s nose, then trailed up to her forehead, gentle fingers brushing aside loose strands of hair. Moving to Beau’s temple, her lips lingered long enough to press a kiss there with a brief smile. Continuing her path, Yasha’s lips dragged down the line of Beau’s jaw. These kisses were just a touch more open-mouthed than before as Beau tipped her head back with a soft noise of appreciation. Yasha smiled against the curve of Beau’s chin and pressed several kisses to the underside of the woman’s jaw. Detouring down the captivating planes of warm skin that was Beau’s neck, Yasha nipped at Beau’s clavicle before making her way back up. Yasha fluttered kisses all over Beau’s jawline and cheeks, pulling sleepy laughter from her victim before Beau lost the battle with her impatience and tugged Yasha down.</p><p>Beau initiated the press of their lips, but Yasha set the pace. Littering a worship of brief kisses to Beau’s mouth, Yasha indulged them both with a deep, lasting embrace after a few moments.</p><p>They were both just shy of breathless when they finally broke apart, barely any space between their kiss-sore lips as Yasha pressed their foreheads together. She stared down at Beau with a quiet peace lining her expression. Beau was looking up at Yasha from where she was pressed into the mattress with smitten awe. Her fingers were tangled and clutching at Yasha’s baggy undershirt, almost like she was afraid letting go would mean Yasha might disappear. Or like she was on the verge of pulling Yasha into another kiss.</p><p>“I care about you, too,” Beau whispered, sounding even more winded than before. “Like, a lot.”</p><p>Yasha laughed, bright and quick, as her eyes crinkled with fondness. She swooped in to dot a few more kisses over Beau’s cheeks before laying down at her side again, smiling as Beau rolled to tuck herself into Yasha’s chest.</p><p>“That was great,” Beau murmured, trailing her lips lazily against Yasha’s collarbone. “I vote we stay in bed for a while.”</p><p>“I’m perfectly fine with that,” Yasha agreed without hesitation. She wrapped her arms snugly around Beau’s wiry frame, relishing the way Beau fit against her. They watched the morning grow old together, bundled in blankets and perfectly content to do nothing else.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. no small amount of passion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 2: a small, fleeting kiss - which is immediately followed by a passionate, hungry kiss</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i wrote this instead of studying for my GRE because my life is crumbling to pieces!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Yasha!” Beau’s voice, pitched with panic, reached Yasha just as she brought her great sword swinging down through an enemy. She whirled around, eyes searching for Beau immediately, fearing the worst. Yasha was almost certain that she would turn and find Beau knocked to the ground, pinned or cornered, injured and in need of help, or, or, or-</p>
<p>Standing right next to her, hand wrapped firmly around the shaft of an arrow that had been seconds away from striking Yasha in the neck.</p>
<p>The arrowhead dripped a toxic green, clearly poisoned, and Beau’s eyes were wild as she exhaled a harsh breath. Yasha stepped back reflexively just a second before Beau whirled to throw the arrow back at the archer who fired it. Her aim impeccable, Yasha watched the archer jerk with the impact to their neck, letting out a strangled, gargled cry of agony as the poison took hold and they collapsed moments later. Beau turned back to Yasha, blue eyes still wild as she swept a look up and down the Aasimar, searching.</p>
<p>“You’re okay, right? It didn’t hit you?”</p>
<p>“No,” Yasha managed, still reeling from how close that had come to hitting her. “I-I’m fine.”</p>
<p>Beau nodded even as she reached out to run her fingers down Yasha’s arm, lingering at her elbow. The monk’s fingers were shaking against Yasha’s skin. She seemed to inspect Yasha again, gaze training on the gash on the Aasimar’s arm that was still oozing blood from an earlier strike. Yasha barely felt it through the adrenaline pumping in her veins, but she reached out to lay a hand on Beau’s shoulder in reassurance.</p>
<p>She opened her mouth to say something - she’s not entirely sure what - when another enemy reared suddenly behind Beau. Reaching up with more speed than she knew she possessed, Yasha wrapped an arm around Beau’s waist and whirled, switching their positions almost like a dance. Letting her momentum carry her sword around to all but cut the assailant in half mid-air, she watched without remorse as they fell with a broken off scream into a messy heap on the ground. Blood spattered across Yasha’s breastplate and arms, disgusting and warm. Chest heaving as she wiped at the mess, Yasha turned back to Beau again and found the monk staring up at her in quiet awe, Yasha’s arm stll around her. It was a look that Yasha had received from Beau several times before, but this felt different, felt a little closer to the edge of Yasha’s sanity. Without a second thought, the Aasimar ducked slightly and swept forward to press a careful, chaste peck against Beau’s slightly agape mouth.</p>
<p>The kiss lasted barely a second, but it was enough reassurance for Yasha that Beau was all right. She started pulling back, with every intention of rejoining the fight, and talking to Beau later to perhaps continue this.</p>
<p>But Beau’s hand shot to Yasha’s shoulder, and the monk levered herself up in one quick motion. She pressed her lips against the Aasimar’s with passionate ferocity. A small noise of surprise escaped Yasha’s chest, but her free hand wrapped almost instinctively around Beau’s waist to keep her close. She felt both of Beau’s hands on either side of her face, touch gentle but firm. Their lips clashed clumsily for a moment before Yasha found enough footing to match Beau’s burst of passion.</p>
<p>Fire lit in Yasha’s stomach when she felt Beau nip at her lower lip, and the sounds of battle washed away. She ached to drop her great sword and cup the base of Beau’s neck in her other hand. But she resisted, if only to maintain the image of not being entirely defenseless. Yasha knew that now was not the best time, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the heat of Beau’s mouth on her own. As with everything she did, Beau’s kiss was fierce and full of passion, focused solely on understanding every line and curve and divot of Yasha’s mouth. If she could spend the rest of her life kissing Beau, Yasha would-</p>
<p>“Oh my gods, get a room after we’re done here!” Veth’s shrill voice was like an alarm in Yasha’s ear. Breaking away from Beau, she moved instantly to put herself between Beau and whatever danger there might be. Her lips were sore, and she was breathless with desire, eyes sweeping over the battlefield. Things hadn’t changed too much in their lapse of focus, for which Yasha was mostly grateful.</p>
<p>Yasha was acutely aware of Beau’s hand resting against her lower back, sucking in a quiet breath as she turned to look over her shoulder. Beau’s pupils were blown, blue eyes locked on the melee ahead of them with a wild fervor. Her bottom lip looked a little swollen, entirely too tempting. Beau’s intricate top knot was in slight disarray, and Yasha thought she had never looked more authentically beautiful.</p>
<p>“Can we pick this up later?” Beau asked, breathless.</p>
<p>“Absolutely,” Yasha said with no hesitation.</p>
<p>Beau grinned, wild and pleased, before dashing off, leaving Yasha to the battle ahead and wrestling with how badly she wanted to kiss Beau again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. you make me breathe so fast</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 3: a breathy demand: “kiss me” - and what the other person does to respond</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i had a rough weekend so have this nonsense from my gay brain (bonus points if you know what scene from what movie inspired this)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The night was growing late, but the village of Vo still bustled with life - both with bodies of villagers and visitors. In the central hearth, a fire continued to flicker and crackle merrily, height maintained by logs and a careful (sober) eye. Stars were out in multitude above their heads, scattered and sparkling like spilled gem dust. Beau frequently switched her attention between the sky and her intended point of focus on the ground.</p><p>She had told the rest of the party that she would loosely monitor things, just to make sure the chaos didn’t end up with people killing each other. The monk was far too wound up from the intense preparation for TravelerCon; still riding the high of almost being bit in half by a dinosaur. She had been serious when she said she wouldn’t sleep anytime soon. There was a lot on her mind.</p><p>With a quiet sigh, Beau pushed off the half-wall she leaned against and started making her way aimlessly in the direction of the dancing-fight pit she had constructed. She had no goal in mind, wandering for the sake of restlessness. Her feet felt a little too jumpy to stay still, so she paced.</p><p>Dodging a drunken couple that were all but falling over one another and giggling their heads off, Beau continued on her way without a second glance. She wanted a distraction from the thoughts piling up in her head. But she was looking for a very specific one. As fun as it could be, getting roped into things with strangers did not rank high on her priority list for tonight.</p><p>Arriving at the pit, Beau scanned over the bodies within the ring of stones. She found that a decent few seemed to be scuffling without much intention. Another decent sized group was dancing to an upbeat strumming on the other side of the ring, cheering and laughing as they went. Content for the moment to watch, Beau leaned against one of the larger stones making up the pit and just breathed.</p><p>After a few stretching minutes of this, a soft voice spoke at Beau’s shoulder, startling her.</p><p>“Are you going to join them?”</p><p>Jumping, Beau’s head whipped around to find Yasha standing just off her shoulder, slightly back from the wall. Beau hadn’t heard her coming over the music and the indistinct chatter surrounding them. She had to work hard to convince her heart rate to settle, but she quirked a smile and turned to look at Yasha fully.</p><p>“I wasn’t thinking about it, honestly. Were you?”</p><p>Yasha’s eyes slid past Beau to the throng of dancing, fighting bodies behind her, and seemed embarrassed. Beau didn’t comment and instead let Yasha find her courage and her voice while she stared. In the firelight surrounding them from various torches and scattered bonfires that had been hastily constructed, Yasha’s pale skin seemed to glow. It was clear she had been crafting because there were flowers woven into her hair and a few wood shavings clinging to her tunic, and the light around her eyes seemed brighter. Beau knew she was staring, but it was hard not to.</p><p><em>So many things, but not now.</em> Beau had told herself that nights ago, when she had contemplated talking to Yasha about the wings incident. She told her racing heart that now, stalling. Beau told herself this was Jester’s event, the thing she had been working toward and dreaming of for months. Beau couldn’t take attention away from that for her own selfish desires.</p><p>“It looks like fun,” Yasha eventually murmured, pulling Beau back down to earth.</p><p>The monk focused her attention again and saw the hint of wistfulness in Yasha’s expression. If she knew anything about the Aasimar, it was that she never directly said what she wanted unless asked several times and left no other choice. Beau suspected it came more from awkwardness than anything else.</p><p>So she saw the hint of interest there and held out a hand, palm up, before she even fully thought it through.</p><p>“You wanna dance?” Beau fought against the flush in her cheeks when Yasha’s eyes immediately snapped to her. She had been schooled in some basic formal dancing because her parents had insisted. The dance these people were kicking up was more like a common village circle dance, though. Beau wasn’t as familiar with it, but she had seen it done a few times in their travels and it didn’t look too hard to pick up.</p><p>So she waited, hand outstretched, until Yasha hesitantly reached out and curled her fingers around Beau’s. She couldn’t help the grin that tugged at her lips, tightening her hold around Yasha’s hand and pulling her along to the pit.</p><p>It was easier than anticipated to be absorbed into the crowd that had formed up, the villagers and visitors grabbing at Beau and Yasha’s hands so they could form a circle. At some point, a smaller, inner circle formed, Yasha somehow being tugged along to that one while Beau stayed on the outside. She caught the other woman’s eye and laughed at the mix of nerves and excitement she found dancing across Yasha’s expression. For the first time in a long while, Beau let herself get swept up in the feeling. She cast off her usual mask of suspicion and indifference, let herself ignore the base instinct to question and analyze everyone around her. Instead, she held fast to the individual on either side of her in the circle and danced in time as best as she could with the music.</p><p>It was a strange and freeing sensation, leaving her a little unsettled in her skin at how different it was. But Beau was resolute in clinging to her sliver of carefree joy and kept dancing.</p><p>After a few passes, the inner circle moved to merge with the outer ring and divided into pairs. Beau, caught up in the dance, grabbed the first body she saw within reach. It was another human woman who looked a little older than Beau, with light brown hair and sun-warm skin. Her brown eyes reflected the nearby bonfire as the skin around her eyes crinkled with the force of her joyful laughter. Beau couldn’t help but beam back at her as she lead the woman through a few spins. They completed a rotation before the partners switched, Beau letting the woman go easily before a sturdy, warm arm wrapped around Beau’s waist.</p><p>Glancing up at the taller individual who was her new partner, the music reaching a fast-paced crescendo in the background, Beau found herself being lead through the dance this time. The towering half-orc lead with ease, and Beau muscled down her instinct to take control and merely enjoyed the fervor of the dance.</p><p>Another rotation complete, the music building ever higher, Beau was given one last spin as the half-orc directed her toward the partner she would end the dance with. She didn’t know how she knew, but there was a certainty in her bones that the music was about to end. Whoever caught her whirling momentum would be the last.</p><p>Sure enough, the moment an arm wrapped secure and steadying around Beau’s lower back, the other hand curling heated fingers around her upper arm, the music came to an ebullient conclusion. The circles ceased their movement, momentum halted. There were exactly two seconds of heavy breathing and fading adrenaline before the crowded erupted into cheers. Pairs either split off with grins and breathless thanks or stuck together as the crowd coalesced toward the musicians and the edges of the pit.</p><p>Beau, vision still spinning a little from her whirling, looked up at her partner. Breathless, sweating, she felt her heart skip a beat when she met Yasha’s gaze. The Aasimar woman was staring down at her, mismatched eyes sparkling and lips tugged into a smile. She was sweating too, her hair in mild disarray and missing a few flowers now, but still glowing in the firelight.</p><p>“So,” Beau managed through her panting. “Fun?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Yasha said, just as breathless.</p><p>“Good,” Beau nodded, making no move to break away from Yasha. “Good.”</p><p>Yasha’s eyes noticeably flicked down to Beau’s lips, something in her eyes sparking. Beau felt her nerves break, and she tightened her grip on Yasha.</p><p>“Kiss me,” Beau barely got out as she attempted to catch her breath.</p><p>Yasha looked startled, but she didn’t pull away. She didn’t make a move forward, either, and Beau’s heart sank a little in her chest.</p><p>“Are you sure?” Yasha asked, quiet and unsure. Beau looked the other woman in the eye as she nodded, firm and vigorous.</p><p>Yasha hesitated for a second longer before sweeping forward to press warm lips against Beau’s. Despite the building heat of the moment from the dance, and every charged interaction they had experienced as of late, Yasha was gentle and slow. The kiss was not chaste, but it wasn’t rushed and messy either. It tasted like sweat, and passion, and desire, but moved like they had all the time in the world.</p><p>Beau’s knees felt weak, and she leaned into Yasha for support. The Aasimar did not disappoint, her arm around Beau’s back holding fast as her other hand moved from Beau’s arm to cup the base of her neck.</p><p>Minutes or hours - Beau couldn’t tell how long - later, they broke apart. Lips sore and glistening, they stared at each other a little cross-eyed, noses brushing, and breathing each other’s air. Beau broke the charged silence first.</p><p>“As much as I want to do that again,” her voice absolutely wrecked. “We should probably keep patrolling.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Yasha managed, sounding just as bad. “You’re probably right.”</p><p>They grinned at each other, giggling and giddy as they stumbled out of the makeshift pit and back into the throng of villagers and visitors. Beau reached out to hold on to Yasha’s hand for some sort of stability, flushing with the other woman squeezed her hand in return.</p><p>She still had to patrol for a good portion of the night, but at least now she had company.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. tugging you even closer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 4: an accidental brush of lips followed by a pause and going back for another, on purpose</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>LET'S MANIFEST LESBIANS HERE WE GO</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was something about Nicodranas that always soothed the frazzled edges of Beau’s nerves. Most days, she felt like a piece of sea glass, fighting to stay coordinated in the tumultuous tumbling of waves around her. But they always seemed to find their way back to Nicodranas, and she washed up onto the shores gratefully, taking solace in their steadiness, and less jagged each time she did so.</p>
<p>Their first night back found Beau on the balcony of her room at the Chateau, arms folded and leaning on the railing of her balcony. The constant wash of water in the distance, the idle chatter of the night streets below her, and the stars in their multitude above her were all Beau needed right now. Familiar in its simplicity, and Yussa’s tower in her peripheral, Beau merely observed without analyzing. She took deep, purposeful breaths that weren’t quite meditation, but left her grounded, let the salty ocean air clean her lungs with brine.</p>
<p>After the days spent on Rumblecusp and everything that had transpired, Beau was more than happy to take this lapse as it came. She was usually itching to get moving, to feel like their group still had a purpose for fear of falling apart if they didn’t. But there was a certain timeless weight to Nicodranas and the Chateau, the port city like liminal space in which the Nein could exist forever without repercussions.</p>
<p>A soft knock at her door pulled Beau from her reverie as she called over her shoulder.</p>
<p>“Come in!”</p>
<p>Twisting from her spot where she leaned against the balcony railing, Beau blinked with only mild surprise as Yasha slipped into the bedroom. Her mismatched eyes found Beau easily, and the Aasimar offered a quiet smile of greeting as she made her way toward the balcony.</p>
<p>“Sorry to bother you,” Yasha said as she hesitated by the balcony doors.</p>
<p>“No,” Beau shook her head, gesturing for Yasha to join her. “I wasn’t doing anything, so it’s no bother at all. Not that you could ever bother me, though.”</p>
<p>Beau physically bit down on her tongue to stop her rambling, wincing at the sting. She always seemed to lose any sense of composure or coherence around Yasha lately, and it was getting embarrassing. The only consolation was that Yasha never made a big deal of it, sometimes appearing just as incoherent as Beau.</p>
<p>As Beau leaned against the railing once more, arms folded on the wrought iron, Yasha took up position beside her, chuckling quietly. Risking a sideways glance, Beau admired Yasha’s profile in the light spilling from the room behind them. Cast partially in shadow, the lines of the Aasimar’s face were sharper, and the white ends of her hair falling messily over her shoulder all but glowed.</p>
<p>“They’re beautiful,” Yasha murmured, eyes trained on the stars. It took Beau a moment to realize what she was talking about, and the monk forced herself from her daze to look up at the sky, too.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah,” Beau managed, clearing her throat. “I’ve never really noticed them before, but I read a bunch of stories about the constellations at the Soul. Y’know, when I was bored and doing everything except what I was supposed to be doing.”</p>
<p>Yasha chuckled quietly and glanced sideways at Beau.</p>
<p>“Could you tell me about them? The stories? My tribe never really cared much about the stars, so I don’t know any.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah. Uh, sure!” Beau stuttered over her tongue for a moment or two, brain scrambling suddenly to remember information that had been there a second ago. Craning her neck a little to look up at the stars again, blue eyes flit between the constellations. She was familiar enough with a few to recognize them upon first glance, but kept searching for one with an interesting enough story.</p>
<p>Eventually, she found a familiar cluster of stars and trained her eyes on them, leaning toward Yasha’s shoulder and pointing into the sky.</p>
<p>“Do you see those stars there, the three that form a diagonal line?” When Yasha nodded in her peripheral, Beau continued. “That’s the belt of a warrior, there are other stars that are supposed to represent the arms and legs and even a shield, but the belt is easiest to find. The books I read all said there were, like, a million different versions of the story. But the common one was that this warrior was so skilled and larger than life, that they were the hunting partner of some ancient goddess of the hunt. But she had a brother who disliked her relationship with the hunter, so he sent this big ass scorpion to attack the hunter. The scorpion killed the hunter, and the goddess was so distraught and her brother felt so guilty that they placed the hunter into the sky as a constellation. For some reason, they also put the scorpion in the sky too, but they’re never seen in the sky at the same time.”</p>
<p>Beau could feel Yasha’s eyes on her, but she resolutely kept her eyes on the stars, knowing that the second she made eye contact, she was a goner.</p>
<p>They were quiet for a moment. Then Yasha turned her eyes back toward the stars, searching. Beau took the moment to catch her breath, before Yasha reached out a hand and pointed to the sky, tracing a shape for Beau to see.</p>
<p>“What about that one? Is that a constellation?”</p>
<p>Beau followed Yasha’s direction and let out a quiet, quick laugh.</p>
<p>“Somehow I’m not surprised you picked that one out. It’s supposed to represent a harp-like instrument. It belonged to some dude who used it to play the most moving music anyone had ever heard. But when he died, it was thrown into a river, so the gods placed him and the instrument in the sky to remember him by. Maybe you picking that constellation means you’ll end up being so famous you’ll become a constellation.”</p>
<p>It was probably the cheesiest thing Beau could have ever said, but it was so easy to let her walls down around Yasha. She hadn’t even thought about it before saying it.</p>
<p>Mustering up the courage to look sideways at Yasha, still leaning slightly toward the other woman, Beau froze as she turned her head. Yasha was already looking at her. Turning her head toward the Aasimar caused their lips to brush.</p>
<p>They stayed frozen for two long seconds, breathing stilled and just barely kissing, before both pulling sharply back. Blinking at each other, eyes wide, Beau tensed as she watched Yasha reach up and slowly place her fingers against her lips. Beau panicked, wondering what Yasha was going to say. She could picture with far too much ease how the betrayal was probably about to set into her expression. Yasha had trusted Beau with so much, had confided her grief over her wife in Beau, and now this happened. Gods, Beau ruined-</p>
<p>Yasha’s hands cupped Beau’s cheeks. She looked into Beau’s eyes, expression deliberate, and Beau knew without a doubt that Yasha was going to kiss her. Yasha gave the monk a few long seconds to pull away, but Beau didn’t move.</p>
<p>When Yasha kissed her, Beau felt like her nerve endings had been set on fire. Not because the kiss felt like all those cheesy romance stories about two puzzle pieces finally fitting, but because it was Yasha. Beau knew like it was engraved in her bones - she loved Yasha. The simple act of being kissed by someone she loved, and someone who loved her in return, was enough to weaken her knees.</p>
<p>Yasha kissed Beau on purpose, <em>with</em> purpose, and Beau could do nothing but kiss her back.</p>
<p>They pulled apart after a few suspended moments and Beau chased after Yasha’s lips, breath shaky. Yasha stared down at Beau with fondness and hunger, and Beau’s knees went weak all over again. She wanted to keep kissing Yasha. She wanted to do a lot more than kiss Yasha, but despite all that, Beau took a steadying breath and twisted her fingers in Yasha’s tunic, grounding herself.</p>
<p>“Not to make this sound like a suggestion, but do you want to sleep with me? Not like...not like that. Just like...fuck, this is going to sound bad no matter how I say it. I just want to sleep next to you. If that makes sense.”</p>
<p>Yasha gave Beau that beautiful smile the monk loved so much and nodded. Her big, warm arms wrapped around Beau and she thought she had never felt more secure in her life.</p>
<p>“I would love to.”</p>
<p>They had a lot to talk about, Beau knew they did, but right now she was giddy. Right now, she had everything she needed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. clinging to all that you left me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 5: throwing their arms around the other person’s neck, hugging them close before kissing them passionately on the lips</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i got wine drunk and wrote this! don't mind me!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beau dropped to one knee, the force of the blow to her chest knocking the wind from her lungs momentarily. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly as her lungs tried to remember how to function, chest constricting. She felt hyper-aware of every second that passed without air, and then she felt her lungs jump and oxygen flooded through her with such a rush she almost fell over completely. Catching herself with one hand, the other pressed to her sternum, Beau looked up at the brute that had struck her down just in time to see them fly backward from a blast of arcane energy. </p><p>Caleb appeared at her side, wiry arm winding firm around her shoulder. A glance sideways met Beau with a severe expression lining Caleb’s face, blue eyes scanning through the fray rapidly.</p><p>He cursed under his breath in Zemnian, before continuing in Common. “We need to get out of here.”</p><p>Oh, it must be bad then.</p><p>Beau was bleeding from several places on various limbs, and she was relatively sure one of her ribs was not where it was supposed to be. She knew that her last couple of hits hadn’t been as strong as they could have been. But it was only now that she wasn’t engaged with an enemy that she could fully take stock of her state.</p><p>Sweeping a look around, she found Jester pressed against a rock about sixty feet from her and Caleb. The Tiefling’s gaze found the pair of them and Caleb made a gesture in Beau’s peripheral. Jester must have understood because she nodded rapidly and spun away.</p><p>The next thing Beau knew, Veth was emerging from shadows Beau hadn’t even been aware of. The Halfling grabbed Jester’s outstretched hand, and then they vanished between one blink and the next.</p><p>“Brace yourself,” Caleb muttered, riffling through his sack for components. Beau understood that they needed to leave, but it hadn’t quite hit her yet that they were going in the next few seconds.</p><p>Her eyes seemed to scan on instinct, because she found Caduceus in the next couple seconds, nearly across the battlefield from them. He was already moving toward Fjord, grabbing for the half-Orc’s arm and calling out to--</p><p><em>Yasha</em>.</p><p>The barbarian was separated from Caduceus and Fjord, engaged with an enemy and looking worse for wear. Beau watched with her breath stuck in her throat as the greatsword swung down with the force of Yasha’s attack and just missed taking the enemy’s head clean off their shoulders. There was blood staining Yasha’s side and dripping down her exposed arm from somewhere higher on her shoulder. Beau knew firsthand that there were likely several more wounds littering Yasha’s skin that were barely visible, and worry was like a rock dropping in the monk’s gut.</p><p>“Caleb, wait,” Beau gasped, every instinct screaming at her to get to Yasha’s side. “Yasha!”</p><p>Everything went blurry, Caleb’s arm around her shoulder the only solid thing Beau could register for a moment. Then they were tumbling messily onto the floor of the Lavish Chateau’s dining area. Beau cried out when she landed on her side, that finicky rib most definitely dislocated now.</p><p>Her vision went grey for a long few moments, voices and sound and feeling a blurred, incomprehensible mess of senses. Chilly hands grasped Beau’s shoulders and then warm healing energy raced from the point of contact to all the monk’s various injuries. Gasping, weak and sharp, Beau jerked in Jester’s grasp and tried to sit up. That damn rib shifted, and she immediately stopped trying to do that, hands curling into fists.</p><p>“Beau!” Jester’s voice prompted the monk’s eyes open, finding the Tiefling, Veth, and Caleb hovering over her with varying degrees of worry.</p><p>“I’m fine,” she gasped, pushing weakly at Jester’s hands. “What about Yasha? Fjord and Cad?”</p><p>“I’m sure Caduceus got them out, but his temple is all the way out at the lighthouse. He knows to come back here, though,” Jester said rapidly, twisting her fingers together and eyes darting between Caleb and Veth as she spoke. She looked like she was trying to reassure them as much as herself, and it did nothing to settle the roiling nerves in Beau’s stomach.</p><p>“We have to find them,” Beau insisted, feeling irrational but not knowing how to stop.</p><p>“Beauregard, your rib,” Caleb cautioned, reaching out to grasp her elbow as the monk shifted to stand again.</p><p>“Fuck my rib, man!” Beau yelled at him, but didn’t pull away. Caleb’s eyes were all to knowing as he stared her down, and Beau couldn’t bring herself to hate how well he understood her anger was worry.</p><p>“Let me fix it first, Beau,” Jester whispered as she cast a healing spell on Veth. “Then we can start toward the lighthouse.”</p><p>“Can you Send them a message?” Veth asked as she pat Jester’s arm in thanks. “To make sure they got back?”</p><p>Beau’s eyes snapped to Jester’s face, hopeful and far too eager to pass off as anything but worried. But the cleric shook her head, expression twisting.</p><p>“I used up all my higher spell slots in the fight and to get back here. I can cast some more healing spells, but I don’t have what I need to cast Sending.” Jester’s violet eyes traced to Beau’s face, contrite. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“No,” Beau deflated, cursing herself for being so emotional. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m just-”</p><p>
  <em>Worried, terrified, scared to relax until I know they’re safe, until I know Yasha’s safe.</em>
</p><p>Jester reached out and grabbed Beau’s free hand that wasn’t clasped to her ribs. Her eyes shone with a sheen of tears that the little Tiefling seemed resolute on not shedding.</p><p>“I know, Beau,” Jester whispered. “Let me fix your rib, and then we’ll get going.”</p><p>No more than five minutes later, after Jester popped Beau’s rib solidly into place again and they reassured a very stressed looking Marion, their little group limped from the Chateau. Jester took the lead in guiding them toward the lighthouse, her tail flicking nervously behind her as they went, and Beau keeping pace at her shoulder. The monk’s thoughts were racing, but her mind felt empty save for an all-consuming worry with no words. Not that she didn’t trust Caduceus’ ability to get them back safely, but there were a million things Beau could think of that might have gone wrong - all of them out of their control. They didn’t know how much time had passed between Caleb and Beau leaving and the rest of them leaving.</p><p>A dark part of Beau’s mind whispered - if they left at all.</p><p>She told it to shut the fuck up.</p><p>The bustling streets of Nicodranas usually brought Beau a sense of comfort, a feeling of steady peace. But all she wanted to do was shove every idle pedestrian out of her way and break into a sprint toward the lighthouse. Every sensory input felt like it was far too much, and Beau was getting twitchy. Even when Obann had taken Yasha, Beau had never felt like this. Something was different this time, and that something was more than likely Beau’s awareness of how she felt about Yasha. Fjord and Jester knew that she liked Yasha because the words had come from her own mouth. Somehow that made it more real, and because it was more real, Beau stood a bigger chance of losing.</p><p>She couldn’t lose Yasha. Yasha wasn’t even her own to lose - and even if they were together, Yasha wouldn’t be Beau’s because Yasha was her own person. But that wasn’t the point. Beau couldn’t-</p><p>“There!” Veth’s shrill voice made Beau jump, eyes snapping to follow Veth’s pointing finger.</p><p>Sure enough, at the far end of the street, limping their way through the crowd, was their missing trio.</p><p>Beau felt like a balloon popped in her chest, exhaling a heavy breath, and then she was sprinting.</p><p>Weaving with an agility that was second nature through the crowded thoroughfare, Beau had eyes only for Yasha. She was, of course, relieved to see Caduceus and Fjord were alive and relatively unharmed, too. But <em>Yasha</em>.</p><p>The Aasimar seemed startled when she spotted Beau in the crowd when the monk was about ten feet from them. By then, Beau’s momentum was carrying her forward on instinct alone. She launched herself at Yasha and threw her arms around the taller woman’s neck, holding fast. Yasha barely moved with the impact, her sturdy arms winding fast around Beau’s waist, not letting her move even an inch from where she pressed against the Aasimar’s chest. Beau could have sobbed at the feeling, at the sensation of her fingers tangled in Yasha’s long, messy hair. At the warmth radiating from the barbarian that meant she was <em>alive</em>.</p><p>“You’re okay,” Beau whispered. She was still shaken, so she didn’t ask. Merely spoke it into existence and hoped Yasha would confirm it.</p><p>“I’m okay,” Yasha murmured back, faithfully. “You’re okay?”</p><p>This was a question, and Beau choked on a quiet sob as she nodded against Yasha’s shoulder, still clinging.</p><p>It hit Beau all at once. She could have lost Yasha, could have never known what happened if Caduceus hadn’t been able to get them out of there. Beau would never have been able to hold Yasha like this, would have lost her chance to confess. Would never have known if Yasha felt the same way.</p><p>Beau pulled back just enough to stare up at Yasha, and she could feel that her eyes were damp. The barbarian stared down at Beau in return, brows furrowing when she noticed Beau’s eyes were wet. Yasha opened her mouth, likely to ask again if Beau was okay, but Beau beat her to speaking.</p><p>“Can I kiss you?”</p><p>Yasha blinked, mouth hanging open with her unspoken question hanging on her tongue. Then she closed her mouth and nodded, mismatched eyes locked on the monk in her arms.</p><p>Beau wasted no time surging forward, Yasha stooping to meet her halfway. Their lips pressed together and Yasha’s hand slip up Beau’s back to cup the base of her neck. Beau tightened her fingers in Yasha’s hair and breathed in through her nose, something like content buzzing through her veins and setting her nerve endings on fire. Because <em>oh</em>, she had never been kissed like this before. She knew the taste of lust like she knew the taste of liquor - thrilling in a way that felt dangerous, sour in some places and sweet in others, leaving fire in her throat and venom in her veins. It was a poison, and a drug laced between the lips of every stranger she had ever kissed.</p><p>But this - oh, <em>this</em> - was nothing like that. Kissing Yasha was warm, floral and gentle and reassuring - like drinking a cup of Caduceus’ tea and knowing everything was going to be alright. It left a different fire lingering behind Beau’s teeth, and she was content to let it burn. She wouldn’t mind letting it engulf every fiber of her existence if it meant she could keep kissing Yasha.</p><p>Yasha pulled back first, only to cup Beau’s face in both her hands and press their foreheads together. Beau let her, still trying to catch her breath and cling to the flames Yasha had pressed into her mouth. Breathless yet again, Beau just clung to Yasha and pretended like she couldn’t hear Jester and Veth squealing and cheering several feet behind them.</p><p>“I would like to kiss you again,” Yasha murmured, lips brushing against the tip of Beau’s nose. “But I think we should get out of the street before we draw a crowd.”</p><p>“You seem to have that effect,” Beau joked weakly, still a little winded. “But yeah, probably a good idea.”</p><p>Yasha released Beau’s face, but traded one hold for another, her arm wrapping around Beau’s shoulders and keeping the monk close to her side. Beau was entirely content to stay there, tucked close and careful. Her cheeks felt hot when turning meant meeting the knowing smirks of Fjord, Caduceus, and Caleb. The three of them just seemed to smile and give satisfied nods before turning and meandering back toward the Chateau, chatting among themselves. Veth and Jester were beaming, scrambling toward Beau and Yasha and gushing as they were wont to do.</p><p>Jester, all but vibrating with excitement, grasped onto Beau’s hand and squealed, “it’s about time!”</p><p>Beau, grinning bashfully and ducking her head, couldn’t help but agree.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. my lungs won't last</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 6: wild, breathless kisses brought on by a heartfelt gift</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hmm i spent way too much time trying to figure out what a good gift would be...but anyway if this is incoherent it's because i almost passed out at work yesterday, got sent home, and wrote this instead of napping. enjoy!</p>
<p>also shout out to asmy (orphanmaker on tumblr) for giving me ideas for this prompt</p>
<p>also also: my url has updated since the last time i posted it on one of my fics but if you want to find me on tumblr i'm beauregardlionett</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In all truth, Yasha had probably spent far too much time combing the street markets for such a meager gift. But given all the options she had come across in her searching, this seemed like the best option. The Aasimar still couldn’t help but feel like it was a somewhat inadequate gift for the sentiment she wanted to express.</p>
<p>She was sitting downstairs in a corner of the tavern they were holed up in, contemplating. Caleb had mentioned wanting to create his tower for the night, but they reassured him that after the exhausting hours spent on the road in days prior, they were more than content with the inn for one night. So she pressed her back against the wall as a practice in grounding and turned the little parcel over and over in her hands. It was a simple gift, wrapped in unassuming brown paper and tied off with a pale blue ribbon. Yasha debated with herself over whether she should have asked for fancier paper.</p>
<p>Shaking her head, Yasha exhaled long and harsh, working up her courage. She shoved to her feet, startling a nearby patron, and strode with a confidence she did not possess toward the stairs that lead up to the rooms.</p>
<p>Beau and Jester usually shared a room together when they travelled from town to town. But earlier, the little blue Tiefling had exchanged a look with Veth and they ended up bunking together. This left the boys in a room together and Yasha with Beau. Even though they both had a key, Yasha knocked before entering.</p>
<p>Pushing the door open revealed Beau sat up against the headboard of her bed, notebooks sprawled in disarray around her. When the monk saw that it was Yasha at the door, her brow furrowed with confusion. The journal Beau had clearly been pouring over lowered as she sat up.</p>
<p>“What’s up, Yasha?” Warmth coiled a knot in Yasha’s belly at how easily Beau read her. The Aasimar’s expression was not exactly forthcoming, even at the best of times. But when it was Beau, she could get Yasha to spread her emotions open like the pages of a well-worn book. There was a near implicit trust Yasha had that Beau would handle her with care, would turn her fragile pages with delicate fingers and never judge her for stains and smudged ink. She willingly laid all of her emotions bare for Beau to absorb - but perhaps it was not enough. Because sometimes Yasha caught flashes of hesitation from Beau, like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.</p>
<p>Or for Yasha to make the first move.</p>
<p>“I got you this,” Yasha finally remembered to answer instead of just staring at the enthralling lines of Beau’s visage. She awkwardly extended the package toward Beau and tried to fight down her blush.</p>
<p>Beau set aside her journal, marking the page with her charcoal and gingerly taking the parcel. Yasha could see that Beau wanted to look excited, but there was also a veneer of hesitation - perhaps tinged in suspicion - that held Beau back. The Mighty Nein had given each other gifts without cost many times before, but they were all so used to the tangle of strings attached that it was a hard habit to shake. Expecting nothing for free meant that everything free always came with a cost.</p>
<p>“What’s this for?” Beau asked, predictably, but not unkindly. She said it with the cadence of a child trying not to get their hopes up.</p>
<p>“Just...” Yasha started, stopped, and began picking at her fingernail nervously. “I uhm, saw these. In the market. And it made me think of you. They’re nothing fancy, but...I thought you might like them.”</p>
<p>Beau, not seeming to need much more convincing, tugged the ribbon loose and unwrapped the paper. Yasha - to her credit - didn’t bolt before Beau finished unwrapping the gift. Her nerves were chewing up her insides over such a simple present, her finger pick, pick, picking at her nail. She felt a little foolish.</p>
<p>The monk stared down at the tiny box of pale-colored slips of square parchment, quiet. She looked at Yasha and raised one eyebrow, a silent question for elaboration.</p>
<p>“They are uhm...magic.” Yasha wished she could disappear, she felt so flustered. “You can write messages that are, uh...fifty words or less on them. And then you, uh, you whisper the name of the recipient, and it turns into a little bird and takes the message. And, also...if anyone tries to intercept it, the bird crumbles to ash. You know, for...for privacy.”</p>
<p>Yasha knew she had lost the battle with her blush, her face hot and her eyes darting down to watch her mangled nail. When she had purchased the little package, it had seemed like a very useful and thoughtful gift for Beau. But now, Yasha was holding back the urge to snatch the gift away, apologize, and go bury herself under a massive pile of dirt.</p>
<p>“I just thought - you know - with your expositor stuff...it might be useful? That way you don’t have to ask Jester to send messages to Dairon that might be...y’know, secret?”</p>
<p>Beau blinked, looking down at the parcel, then back up at Yasha, seemingly at a loss for words. Yasha took that as her cue to leave and made a hesitant, aborted gesture of farewell. Turning her back, with a soft, “yep,” Yasha started for the door. She was already making plans to find a quiet place to smash her head into a wall.</p>
<p>A little paper bird flapped frantic wings in front of her face, and Yasha blinked. Holding out her hand, the bird settled and unfolded, revealing the two words scrawled in very large, frantic font.</p>
<p>
  <em>Don’t go.</em>
</p>
<p>Yasha turned to look at Beau and found the monk already halfway off the bed and across the room toward Yasha. There was a sheen to her eyes that the Aasimar hadn’t noticed before, and she waited for Beau to reach her, to say something. Because Yasha felt a little lost, floundering for solid footing.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Beau breathed, eyes locked on Yasha’s. “That was...a really thoughtful gift. No one has ever just gotten me something so specific like this before. I mean...the others have gotten things with me in mind, but never like this. So...thank you.”</p>
<p>Yasha was harshly reminded of Beau’s less than stellar childhood and felt all at once sad that such a simple gift like paper would mean so much. But also proud that she had got something meaningful for the monk.</p>
<p>“Can I kiss you?” Beau asked, voice soft in the otherwise quiet room. “You can say no.”</p>
<p>Yasha nodded without hesitation, and Beau swooped in, hands coming to rest on either side of Yasha’s face to press several breathless pecks against her lips. The taller woman wrapped her arms around Beau’s waist and held her steady, trying to meet the monk’s fervent rush. It was only after the racing of her own heart registered in her ears that Yasha could hear Beau’s voice pressed out between kisses. A breathless litany of thanks murmured over and over again, each one more of a gasp than the last. The Aasimar was beyond surprised that her simple gift could elicit such a response, but she didn’t call it to question.</p>
<p>Instead, she steadied Beau and cupped one hand at the base of Beau’s neck, encouraging this kiss to linger. Pulling back after a few wonderful seconds, Yasha brushed her thumb over Beau’s cheekbone and stared down at the breathless woman before her.</p>
<p>She almost said it was no problem, or to not worry about such a simple gift. But Yasha caught her tongue before it could move. Something like that might seem like she was trying to invalidate the meaning Beau felt behind it. Or that Yasha was trying to make it something lesser. The truth was, Yasha wanted Beau to know how much she thought about her every day. And while the paper birds were nowhere near enough to express everything she wanted to say to Beau, it was a start.</p>
<p>Yasha pressed a careful kiss to Beau’s forehead and instead whispered an overflowing, “you’re welcome.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. cherry vodka on your tongue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 7: french kisses where they trace every tooth with their tongues as though trying to memorize them</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>mmm i didn't entirely fulfill this prompt but i'm like...super not into french kissing so i had no idea how to write this without cringing like a motherfucker<br/>anyway happy international lesbian day please accept this very short piece of crap because i've been dying for two weeks also beauyasha deserves to kiss in canon that is all</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m just saying, I think it’s a great idea,” Beau reasoned from where she straddled Yasha’s hips. The sheets were a messy tangle around Beau’s calves and draped over Yasha’s legs. The fabric was warm from sleep and the morning light spilling in through the window above their bed.</p>
<p>Yasha’s hands were a comforting weight on Beau’s hips as she smirked up at Beau, eyebrow cocked with amusement.</p>
<p>“I think this is just your elaborate plan to make me show off at the gym,” Yasha said, tracing her thumb along the waistband of Beau’s worn joggers. Her fingertip brushed against the exposed skin of Beau’s stomach as she did, the high riding crop top leaving the toned planes of skin free for Yasha to admire.</p>
<p>“I mean, yeah,” Beau said with a shrug, fingers fiddling idly with the strings of Yasha’s sweats. “But also, I just think you bench pressing me is really hot. It’s for science.”</p>
<p>Yasha scoffed a soft laugh, eyes crinkling at the corners as she did, and Beau felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. She loved seeing Yasha smile, and shrouded in morning light, looking soft from sleep? Beau was a goner - at least, more than she was already. Ducking her head with a grin, Beau put all of her attention into tying the strings of Yasha’s sweats into a bow.</p>
<p>“Well, if it’s for science...” Yasha trailed off teasingly, making Beau look up again. The woman beneath her was stunning, the grin curling at her lips, dark and silver hair splayed in a messy halo on the pillow, and her eyes sparkling with bubbling laughter. She looked like a painting, angelic and soft in the golden light, defined by easy grey shadows with eyes that bore into the viewer’s soul. Beau had never been particularly religious, but she wouldn’t mind worshiping Yasha for the rest of her life.</p>
<p>Overcome by her endearment, Beau leaned forward, bracing her hands against Yasha’s shoulders. She felt Yasha’s hands slide from her hips to her back, tracing up the warm skin and beneath Beau’s crop top. When she got close enough, Beau pressed their lips together in a lazy embrace, content to just exist like that for a while. Their lips moved lazily for a few moments in that comfortable, easy embrace.</p>
<p>Beau pressed in a little closer, and Yasha met her movement with eager fervor, lips parting a little as the kiss turned heated. Yasha kissed Beau like she had nothing to lose, like she had all the time in the world. Lavishing attention to Beau’s mouth, Yasha kissed her like she was trying to memorize every minuscule divot in Beau’s lips. There was a passion and a pace to the way Yasha kissed the woman on top of her, like she wanted to explore every crevice where one tooth butt up against the other.</p>
<p>It was a kiss that left Beau nearly breathless with awe, a kiss she could do nothing but give in to.</p>
<p>When they finally broke apart, Yasha rolled, tipping Beau onto her side on the mattress, catching her head with a careful hand. Beau merely stared at Yasha with kiss-swollen lips and sparkling eyes. Her crop top was askew, riding up her torso, and Yasha’s t-shirt was a rumpled mess.</p>
<p>“So, gym?” Yasha said, a note of teasing poorly hidden in her tone.</p>
<p>“I think you should finish what you started first,” Beau managed, voice rough and raspy. Yasha smirked at her, a warm hand on Beau’s hip nudging her to roll onto her back.</p>
<p>“I think I can do that.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. i could find eternity between your palms</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 8: laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this scenario has been stuck in my head for days so you bet your ass i fit it around a kissing prompt</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stained glass lay in shattered pieces across the cathedral floor. There was no light outside the jagged window to reflect their colors, a steady rain misting the worn cobblestone interior through the opening. Despite the hallowed space, the vaulted ceiling rang with echoes of battle. Scattered, cooling corpses lay in crumbled heaps before the altar.</p>
<p>The first thought Yasha consciously had: <em>I’ve had this dream before.</em></p>
<p>As if from far away, she watched through her own eyes as she ascended the stairs to the altar. Before her stood Beauregard, chest heaving and skin battered. The monk turned to look at Yasha, the sound of Skingorger scraping across the stone heralding the Aasimar’s arrival. Those blue eyes latched onto Yasha, and despite the fear that dominated Beau’s expression, Yasha also saw a hint of relief. It was more painful than it should have been to realize that even after everything Yasha had done, Beau still wanted to save her.</p>
<p>The seconds blurred, actions not her own. Then Yasha was staring down at Beau, the monk unconscious on the floor with a gash across her chest and abdomen. She moved a foot to either side of Beau’s hips and stood above the unconscious monk. Yasha screamed inside her own mind for her body to stop, begging to turn and go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Beau’s eyes fluttered open just as Yasha’s hands drove the massive greatsword through the monk’s sternum.</p>
<p>Yasha screamed even as her lips remained curled in a vicious snarl. Beau’s weak gasp beneath her gut Yasha to her core. Blood stained her blade and leaked with rapid intent from the wounds that threatened Beau’s life. In her peripheral, Yasha had an unholy focus on the way Beau’s blood dipped and filled the cracks between the cobblestones. A fleeting thought entered her mind about how no amount of rain from the Storm Lord could clean the blood from these stones, let alone from Yasha’s hands.</p>
<p>It took the reeling Aasimar a moment to realize that Beau’s lips were moving. Her blue eyes dim but still very much alive, locked with an intent focus on Yasha. Yasha’s body leaned closer, the first action Yasha’s mind didn’t argue against.</p>
<p>“Yasha,” Beau whispered. Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, staining Beau’s teeth pink and crimson. The coppery scent was sickening as it permeated the surrounding air.</p>
<p>“Yasha,” Beau said again, louder this time. Yasha thought she might shake apart. “Yasha.”</p>
<p>The Aasimar struggled against herself, begging her hands to release the sword so she could gather Beau into her arms. She had to tell her everything would be okay.</p>
<p>“Yasha!” Beau still stared at her from the growing pool of her own blood. Her lips were almost entirely crimson. There was so much blood in the monk’s mouth. “Yasha!”</p>
<p>Yasha screamed back, soundless and terrified and wounded. She felt removed from her own senses.</p>
<p>“YASHA!”</p>
<p>Jolting upright, flinging the blankets aside and vaulting from the bed, Yasha only found a semblance of awareness when her back pressed against the nearby wall. Her mismatched eyes were wild, darting around the darkened room, looking for signs of danger. Eventually, she found Beau.</p>
<p>The human knelt up on the mattress, one hand hesitantly outstretched toward Yasha and face a mask of concern. There was no blood on her lips, and the wound Yasha had dreamed nothing more than a scar. Instead of the cathedral floor and haunted altar, there was their bed covered in tangled sheets, silver-white in the moonlight from the unassuming window. The sound of Skingorger grinding against stone ringing in her ears faded.</p>
<p>Beau moved off the bed, her voice quiet with caution and the late hour as she whispered, “Yasha?”</p>
<p>All the tension coiled in her muscles released at once. The barbarian slid to the floor with a sob, curling her legs to her chest and folding her arms to hide her face in. Seconds later, Beau’s hands were in Yasha’s hair, soothing as the monk pressed her weight against Yasha’s side and murmured reassurance against the shell of her ear.</p>
<p>“I’m right here,” Beau’s voice acted as more of an anchor than anything Yasha could ever hope for. “You’re safe, I promise.”</p>
<p>This routine after a nightmare was far too familiar, and they never told the other it was okay. They always promised safety, because that was more grounding, more reassuring than a notion of normalcy. Both of them knew they could be nothing near ‘okay’ after nightmares. So Yasha leaned into Beau, and the monk took her weight with practiced ease, squeezing the Aasimar tighter.</p>
<p>After a few quiet minutes of this practice, Yasha pulled back enough to sit up, shifting so she could take in all of Beau. The human beside her looked tired, the shadows under her eyes dark from endless days on the road prior. But her eyes were alert, focused entirely on Yasha. Beau’s hair had fallen loose in her sleep, the long strands cascading over her shoulders and framing her face delicately, obscuring her undercut. Paired with Beau’s baggy pants and cloth crop top for sleep, it all painted the monk in a softer light. This was an unguarded version of Beau that only Yasha ever got to see. There was no performance here, no stony disposition or analytical judgement - just Beau in all her honest, badass, caring reality.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Yasha whispered, unwinding just enough to take both of Beau’s hands in her own. She gave them a gentle squeeze, and Beau returned the pressure, shifting to sit more comfortably against Yasha’s side.</p>
<p>“Always,” Beau said, sounding nonchalant. But Yasha knew from experience it was a sincere promise. “Nightmare?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Yasha breathed, eyes flitting down to their intertwined hands.</p>
<p>“Want to talk about it?”</p>
<p>Yasha went to say ‘no’, but stopped herself. She rarely ever told Beau what her nightmares were about, for fear of burdening her. But this was such a heavy weight on her heart, despite the time passed and the fact that they had already talked about it. Last time she broached the topic, Beau had brushed it off and moved on. She had said the scar added to her aesthetic, made her a more interesting person. Yasha hadn’t wanted to push it, especially with Jester there. But Yasha thought she might choke on all the words she wanted to say, sitting at the back of her throat like an uncomfortable lump.</p>
<p>“I dreamed I killed you,” Yasha managed, voice unsteady. Beau’s hands tightened around Yasha’s. “In the chantry.”</p>
<p>“You know I never blamed you for that, right?” Beau asked, that intense gaze of hers pinning Yasha in place. “What happened was not your fault.”</p>
<p>“I know,” the Aasimar rasped. “But I still remember all of it.”</p>
<p>Beau pursed her lips and shifted in her spot beside Yasha, looking like she didn’t know what to say next. Guilt at making Beau uncomfortable pricked beneath Yasha’s skin. She didn’t mean to be difficult, but the scars on her mind ran almost as deep as the scars on Beau’s skin. Carefully, Yasha brought one of Beau’s hands to her lips. With reverence, she pressed a lingering kiss to the monk’s scarred knuckles.</p>
<p>These hands fought Yasha in the chantry, had cracked across her skin with regret. Beau said nothing about how hard that must have been, but Yasha could guess. She witnessed every day how much love the human held for every member of their motley crew, so rough around the edges to protect themselves from the outside world. But at their core was Beau, soft, loving, and understanding for all that she presented herself as harsh to the world. Beau, who loved almost unconditionally and with razors in her spine.</p>
<p>“I know you do not blame me, Beau. And I can not thank you enough for that.” Yasha’s lips trailed over the skin of Beau’s knuckles as she spoke, not ready to move away just yet. “But I still need you to know that I never wanted to hurt you, and I never want to hurt you like that again.”</p>
<p>The monk watched Yasha with slightly parted lips, eyes wide and stuck on Yasha. She always saw Yasha in her entirety. In return, Yasha tried to always do the same.</p>
<p>“I know,” Beau croaked after a silent second, drawing Yasha’s eyes to her. “I trust you.”</p>
<p>The night was still aging when Beau finally tugged Yasha back to bed. They curled up together, Beau guiding Yasha’s head to rest against her clavicle beneath the blankets of their bed again, hands still intertwined. The moonlight saw them to sleep, and Yasha had a dreamless night tucked into Beau’s embrace.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. the world is ending so kiss me slowly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 9: a kiss that lasts so long, they are sharing each other’s breaths</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>god...my brain is so fried this feels like it's such a shit read but please just take it i'm so tired of looking at it</p>
<p>hope you're all well &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The days at sea had been seemingly endless. Heavy layers of ice fog consistently impeded their journey, and Beau had grown weary of the monotony. Lucky enough, however, the voyage hadn’t persisted for too long. The icebreaker was rather scuffed up from their earlier encounters on the icy seas, but they plugged along as steady as could be. Despite those encounters, they made it to land with relatively good timing.</p>
<p>Their stay in the port city hadn’t lasted more than a day, moving on with rapid intent in their search for Eiselcross. But they leapt from one monotony to the next, trekking through the endless, snowy landscapes of the north. The winds were bracing, the snow beyond freezing, and nights were worse. Beau could feel the temperature actively chapping her lips and the skin of her knuckles, but she tucked into her warm clothes as much as possible and pushed onward.</p>
<p>So, by the time they stumbled upon a cave system that cropped up seemingly from nowhere, of course they were going to jump at the chance to explore.</p>
<p>Beau was surprised that Vess had agreed to let them sidetrack like this. But when Beau thought about it, Vess’ job was to explore and cultivate. So perhaps she thought the cave system might yield something of interest.</p>
<p>However, the cave only yielded a reprieve from the wind and snow. It was remarkably dull, the rough-hewn walls lacking anything but basic rock and sediment. But they continued on for a little while longer, if only to stay out of the wind, until they came to a three-way split. And while they all knew it was a bad idea, they agreed to divide and conquer to satiate their curiosity.</p>
<p>“Five minutes in each direction,” Fjord instructed firmly. “If you don’t find anything promising, turn around and come back. The last thing we need is to get lost down here.”</p>
<p>The others nodded as Beau flashed her friend a lazy salute. She lingered to watch Fjord, Caduceus, and Veth head down one path, and Caleb, Vess, and Jester down the other. Turning to Yasha, she fought down the butterflies in her stomach and gestured to the remaining tunnel before them.</p>
<p>“Shall we?”</p>
<p>Yasha seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then she turned to lead them down the tunnel. Their steps echoed with dull reverberation in the narrow space, and the cave continued to yield nothing.</p>
<p>Three minutes into their winding way down the tunnel with a semi-awkward silence lingering between them, something snarled in the shadows. Beau’s footsteps halted immediately, eyes sweeping for a source. In her peripheral, Yasha’s hand moved instantly to the hilt of her sword.</p>
<p>With her goggles on, Beau stared into the grey darkness and scanned for the source of the sound. With slow intent, she shifted her right foot back, widening her stance in preparation. This was far from the ideal place to be fighting, and her pulse picked up with nervous anticipation.</p>
<p>Suddenly, in a blur of darkness and movement, a creature lunged from the shadows and swiped massive claws at Beau. She pulled back, quick enough to dodge a lethal blow, but still caught the wide arc of the strike. Claws that were as cold as the ice they had left outside cut through the skin of her side. Beau cried out with a pained, “fuck!” as she lashed out on instinct.</p>
<p>Her first wild punch missed entirely. Somehow, through the haze of painful cold that was now creeping through her veins like poison, she landed her second strike on its hide. She knew the instant her knuckles connected with its fur that she had barely hurt the thing. Beau stumbled back, just missing another blow from its claws. Clutching an arm around her midsection, Beau tried to steady herself by leaning against the tunnel wall. As she attempted to focus through the pulsing chill that spread with every rapid thud of her heart, Beau turned to look for Yasha.</p>
<p>The barbarian slipped past Beau, approaching the creature with her sword drawn and a cry of rage echoing in the tunnel. There was that familiar fire in her multi-colored eyes, and Beau instinctively relaxed. Something about having Yasha beside her in battle that made Beau feel like everything would be okay.</p>
<p>Yasha, veins bulging in her forehead with her rage, somehow maneuvered her greatsword in the narrow space and cut deep into the creature’s side. It yelped with pain a second before Yasha whirled and slammed the flat of her blade against its side. The beast went flying into the side of the cavern wall, colliding with a rough crack and pained yelp.</p>
<p>The tunnel shook, and the creature, heavily wounded and dazed, snarled in their direction before turning and fleeing further into the cave system. Beau was still leaning against the wall, tremors running through the rock beneath her skin. Panic seeped into her expression as she locked eyes with Yasha.</p>
<p>“Yash-” she called out, before the sound of falling rock rumbled above her and cut her off. On instinct, Beau moved away from the wall at the same moment Yasha reached out for the monk. The Aasimar’s fingers curled around Beau’s forearm, tugging her away from the danger. Yasha whirled, pressing Beau in close and hunching over the monk, shielding her entirely from the falling rocks that cascaded from the ceiling.</p>
<p>Beau ducked her head against Yasha’s shoulder and curled chilled fingers into the warm fabric of the Aasimar’s coat.</p>
<p>When the rumbling and crashing finally ceased, Beau still stood tense and shuddering in Yasha’s hold.</p>
<p>“Beau?” Yasha’s voice cracked above her, the woman’s hand shifting to slide down her back as Yasha pulled away slightly. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>Breathing out a rough, maniac huff of a laugh, Beau felt all the tension bleed from her muscles in one go. She slumped against Yasha, drained and freezing. The Aasimar’s hands fumbled to catch her for a moment, the sound of Yasha’s greatsword clattering to the cavern floor a jarring cacophony in the otherwise silence. But Yasha grabbed Beau around the shoulders and helped her to the floor.</p>
<p>“Hang on,” Yasha muttered more to herself than to Beau. “Close your eyes.”</p>
<p>Light flooded the space a moment later, Yasha’s greatsword glowing a vibrant, dull orange color like firelight where it lay beside them. Yasha turned back to Beau, concern lining every curve of her expression. She seemed to scan Beau, eyes latching onto the wound on Beau’s side. Her expression darkened marginally before she reached out and set her hand on the wound with a gentle touch. Yasha’s fingers glowed with a soft vibrance for a moment as warmth pulsed through Beau. It wasn’t enough to banish the chill in her veins, but it helped.</p>
<p>“Thanks,” Beau breathed shakily, her fingers still trembling. She looked around and realized with sinking dread that the rockfall now blocked the surrounding tunnel on both sides.</p>
<p>“Shit.” Beau summed up rather eloquently.</p>
<p>“Yep,” Yasha agreed, moving to sit beside Beau.</p>
<p>If they thought the tunnel was narrow to begin with, it now barely left room for Beau to stand upright. Which meant if Yasha so much as tried to straighten up, she would smack her head rather painfully into the rocks. It also meant she had no chance of maneuvering her sword, so it stayed put on the floor.</p>
<p>“Let’s hope Fjord sticks to his five-minute time limit,” Beau mused, curling her knees to her chest in an effort to keep her body heat maintained. “If he does, they’ll probably come looking for us relatively soon.”</p>
<p>“I hope so,” Yasha sighed, leaning against the part of the original cave wall. They were lucky the rocks had fallen the way they did. They might have just been crushed all together under different circumstances. Beau shuddered at the thought and felt more than saw Yasha’s gaze snap to her.</p>
<p>“You’re cold,” Yasha said. It was an observation rather than a question, but Beau still tried to deny it. She opened her mouth to brush off the concern, assure Yasha that she was fine. But before she could even get a word out, the Aasimar removed her fur-lined cloak and wrapped it around Beau’s shoulders. Her hands fussed for a few moments, tucking Beau beneath the fabric securely, lips pursed with a concentration Beau found stupidly endearing.</p>
<p>“Thanks,” Beau managed her gratitude without her voice cracking, burrowing into the offered cloak. She felt insufferably awkward just then, realizing she was now stuck in a tiny space with the woman of her affections. Every stilted, flustered interaction she had ever shared with Yasha reared to the forefront of Beau’s mind. It came with the reminder of the very solidifying conversation of her feelings she had had with Fjord not too long ago.</p>
<p>Oh, the gods hated her.</p>
<p>Yasha, who had been fiddling with something on her belt, looked up at Beau and frowned after a minute. She shifted closer and opened her arms in a gesture that made Beau’s face flush in an instant.</p>
<p>“You’re still shaking,” Yasha said by quiet explanation. “I do not want you to freeze or anything like that.”</p>
<p>Beau snorted and shifted in her seat, wanting nothing more than to let Yasha hold her, but holding back. Yasha offered, so there was no reason not to. But she reminded herself that Yasha was off-limits because of Zualla. Yasha needed to make the first move and yeah, she sat there with her arms out, ready to hold Beau without question or prompt. But if Beau accepted, wouldn’t it be like making the first move? Wouldn’t that make Yasha feel obligated to...something? Gods, she was so cold she couldn’t think, but she was certain that she couldn’t accept this offer because...because--</p>
<p>“Beau,” Yasha’s voice cut through the static in Beau’s head, the monk sniffing against the chill in her bones as she looked up. The Aasimar’s face was as neutral as ever, despite the pink in her cheeks. Her arms were still open.</p>
<p>“Do you want to schnuggle?”</p>
<p>Beau blinked at Yasha’s deadpan delivery and promptly lost it. She curled over herself with laughter, tears squeezing from her eyes as she clutched at her pained, chilled abdomen. She heard Yasha chuckling beside her, and Beau felt the tension eek from the atmosphere.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau managed, breathless. “Yeah, I’d love to <em>schnuggle</em>.”</p>
<p>Still giggling, she let Yasha maneuver them so she was sideways in Yasha’s lap, her head tucked against the Aasimar’s shoulder. The barbarian’s arms were a firm, warm weight wrapped around Beau’s wiry frame, and she sank into the easily offered comfort.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Yasha,” Beau mumbled, exhaustion creeping in. “I owe you a couple gold pieces.”</p>
<p>Yasha chuckled quietly, the noise deep and rumbling in her chest where Beau’s cheek pressed against Yasha’s clavicle.</p>
<p>“You don’t owe me anything,” she promised. “I’m happy to help.”</p>
<p>“You’re great,” Beau sighed, pulling the cloak a little tighter around her. She couldn’t seem to banish the chill in her veins. Her training had helped her gain immunity to poisons, but that beast’s chill was more like magic than toxin.</p>
<p><em>Fuck</em>.</p>
<p>Hopefully, the others found them soon, because Jester or Caduceus would probably fix it. But until then, she didn’t want to alert Yasha to how bad her wound might be. She didn’t want to worry her.</p>
<p>“Hey, Beau?” Yasha sounded hesitant above her, and Beau hummed in wordless answer. “Can I tell you something?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau mumbled, cozy despite the chill. “‘course.”</p>
<p>“I like you,” Yasha said, words rushed and stumbling, like she was afraid she’d lose her courage if she held onto them for too long. Beau stilled against Yasha’s shoulder and remained quiet. She hated to let those words kindle fledgling hopes, because what if Yasha didn’t mean it that way?</p>
<p>“A lot,” Yasha continued, and Beau remained frozen. “And sometimes...it makes me feel very...bad. Not because I regret it,” Yasha was quick to amend. “But because of...Zualla. But I think she would want me to be happy. And you...uhm. You make me happy.”</p>
<p>Yasha’s voice tapered off near the end, arms stiff where they remained wrapped around Beau. The monk knew that she feared rejection, feared that Beau would brush her off and tell her it wasn’t mutual.</p>
<p>But it was.</p>
<p>With an alarming amount of effort, Beau picked her head up off Yasha’s shoulder and turned her face up to look at the barbarian. She saw the nerves highlighting every inch of Yasha’s tentative expression and sensed the tremulous hope surging in her veins.</p>
<p>And all Beau could do was respond with an honesty she usually couldn’t afford.</p>
<p>“I like you, too, Yasha,” Beau said as quietly as possible, afraid she might shatter the air around them if she spoke too loudly. “More than I was prepared to. But I like you.”</p>
<p>Yasha didn’t seem to know what to do with Beau’s reciprocation, but her lips curled into a slow smile and her arms around the monk tightened. Joy eked into her eyes and she laughed, breathy and disbelieving.</p>
<p>“May I kiss you? I really want to kiss you. And not in an ‘this is the end, so I might as well’ kind of way. I’ve uh...I’ve wanted to kiss you a lot for, like, a while.”</p>
<p>It was Beau’s turn to huff out a laugh, and she was too afraid to speak and stumble, so she nodded eagerly instead.</p>
<p>Yasha, practically glowing, bundled Beau close and ducked her head down to meet the monk halfway.</p>
<p>The warm press of Yasha’s lips against her own didn’t magically banish the ice in Beau’s veins. But it was certainly a welcome distraction. Beau felt her breath catch in her chest, a stuttering, muted gasp of realization that <em>oh fuck</em>. She was in so deep.</p>
<p>Yasha’s arms stayed wrapped around her, firm and encompassing, keeping Beau right where she wanted to be. Their kiss was chaste, but deep and ringing with a passion beyond frightening. Beau had kissed many people in her time, had done a lot more than kissing, but this...this was something else. Yasha held her like she was worth something and kissed her with attention. She wasn’t chasing pleasure or looking to satisfy a desire - she was declaring to Beau <em>I’m here, I’m in no hurry, I care about you</em>.</p>
<p>And Beau had absolutely no idea what to do with that.</p>
<p>Her first instinct was to break and run - but that was not an option given their surroundings. And despite the fear thrumming in time with her heart, there was also something else - something lighter. A giddiness in her belly that curled with delight at being recognized, at being seen. Yasha always saw her and understood her in ways that others never could. And Yasha thanked her once before for not judging her, but Beau had never gotten the chance to thank Yasha for doing the same.</p>
<p>So she pressed a little closer and clung a little tighter and hoped that Yasha understood her now, too.</p>
<p>There was nowhere else for them to go, no rush in these tight quarters.</p>
<p>Beau adjusted, moving her lips to a more comfortable angle and Yasha met her halfway. The Aasimar inhaled, and Beau realized from where she still pressed against Yasha’s chest that she was inhaling, too. Beau had lost track of time, just clinging to the awareness that there was nothing else she wanted at the moment.</p>
<p>(Maybe she wanted to get out of this cave, but that could wait just a <em>little</em> longer.)</p>
<p>They only broke apart, breath stuttering from their shared pattern, when Jester’s voice rang in Beau’s head.</p>
<p>
  <em>Beau! Where are you guys? We’re all waiting, but we don’t know if you found anything. Are you guys making out? Please let me know!</em>
</p>
<p>Clearing her throat as she laughed awkwardly, Beau just barely remembered to respond. She hoped her voice didn’t sound as wrecked as she felt.</p>
<p>“Hey, Jes,” she said, shooting a glance to Yasha, who blushed but grinned anyway. “We’re a bit...stuck. Our tunnel caved in. Probably about a three-minute walk down. Help us out, please.”</p>
<p>She wasn’t sure if that had fit in the allotted length of Jester’s spell, but the magic dissipated a moment later, so she figured it worked. She shrugged to hide another cold induced shudder and flicked a look up at Yasha. The barbarian regarded her fondly, fingers tracing idle patterns in the coat’s fabric up and down Beau’s arm. It was such a tender gesture that Beau felt her cheeks heat as she ducked her head.</p>
<p>“I guess we’ll be out soon,” Yasha said.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau said eloquently. “I r-really need to str-stretch my legs.”</p>
<p>She didn’t realize how much her teeth were chattering as she spoke until Yasha shifted her around. The barbarian’s eyes lit with concern as she reached a hand out to brush the stray locks of Beau’s hair from her face. Beau, a little dizzy from the kiss and the relief of knowing their friends were coming, gave Yasha’s concern a dazed smile.</p>
<p>“Yer super hot, y’know that?” Beau slurred, leaning into the hand Yasha had cupped to Beau’s cheek. The dizziness and loopy sensation were more likely a result of the magical cold in her blood. But Beau couldn’t find it in herself to be that concern when it meant Yasha would keep holding her close.</p>
<p>“We need to get out of here, fast,” Yasha said, more to herself than anything. She shifted beneath Beau and the monk sucked in a sharp breath, clinging weakly to Yasha as the space started spinning with wild abandon.</p>
<p>“I don’ feel good...” Beau managed, her fingers like ice and her limbs cold and useless. “‘M cold.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Yasha whispered, one arm tightening around Beau’s shoulders as the other reached for her sword. It was clear, even through her icy haze, that Yasha did not know what she was going to do with her sword. She seemed desperate to just get them both out of this cave in.</p>
<p>Beau lost track of time after that, everything going fuzzy and floaty and cold. But Yasha’s arm around her remained a solid constant and Beau couldn’t find it in herself to worry about their dilemma. There was some muffled shouting at one point, something about ‘hurry’ and ‘stoneshape’.</p>
<p>She just wanted to sleep.</p>
<p>Warm hands touched her abdomen and a searing heat that felt like pure sunlight injected into her bloodstream shot from the point of contact. The ice in her veins evaporated rapidly and Beau came back to herself with a strangled gasp. Caduceus smiled down at her, giving Beau a gentle pat before stepping away.</p>
<p>“There ya go,” his familiar timbre rumbled. “Good as new.”</p>
<p>Beau pushed out a shaky sigh and realized that Yasha was still holding her.</p>
<p>“Hey,” she croaked with a grin.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Yasha fret in that soft voice of hers.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau reassured her, rolling her ankles to crack them. “I feel good as new. Sorry for scaring you...I didn’t think it would get that bad that fast.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I couldn’t heal you,” Yasha apologized as she set Beau on her feet, a hand still lingering against Beau’s back.</p>
<p>“You did what you could,” Beau waved away the apology. “I think everything you did helped me fight it off as long as I did.”</p>
<p>Neither of them mentioned the kiss as Caleb roped Beau into a fierce hug. Nor when Jester, Veth, and Fjord took a moment to fuss over her. Neither of them mentioned the kiss when Vess interrupted their reunion to remind them of their mission, nor when they trekked back toward the mouth of the cave. Neither of them brought it up as the party pulled their hoods up and tightened buttons, pulled gloves snug and secured their scarves.</p>
<p>Beau unfastened the clasp of Yasha’s cloak where it rested against her clavicle as the others headed back into the snow. She turned to Yasha, who caught the cloak before it could leave her shoulders, and tugged it firmly back over Beau’s frame, securing the fastenings with deft fingers.</p>
<p>“You keep it for now,” Yasha said to Beau’s confused look. “You need it more. Besides, it looks good on you.”</p>
<p>Beau felt her cheeks flush at the compliment as Yasha leaned down to press a lingering kiss to the flustered monk’s lips. This one didn’t last as long, didn’t end with syncopated breaths. But it warmed Beau from head to toe.</p>
<p>Neither of them mentioned the kiss as they walked from the cave side-by-side, wearing matching grins.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. morning begins with your lips</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 10: a hello/good-bye kiss that is given without thinking - where neither person thinks twice about it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello i wrote this in one sitting please do not expect me to ever post two things in one day ever again i have no idea what happened anyway this was not beta read and barely edited</p>
<p>enjoy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Mighty Nein was a group that one could describe as existing in a constant state of flux. Sometimes they appeared competent and sometimes...well. Precious little in their lives remained as a fixed constant, including themselves. They were always changing and shifting one way or another, and it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It did, however, make it rather difficult for allies and enemies alike to keep up.</p>
<p>There was, however, one consistent constant - even if it was a minuscule detail. Beauregard Lionett always woke first in the morning.</p>
<p>Her training was a hard thing to shake, and life on the road did not lend to sleeping late most days. Beau also wasn’t in the market for changing her sleeping habits. So she woke moments before the dawn each morning and went through her usual workout.</p>
<p>That morning found them in a tavern, Caleb having used up too many spells the day before to cast their tower. It was a fairly nice tavern, so none of them minded. Beau sat herself at a circular table in the corner with coffee and some food (thankfully they had bacon here), and waited for everyone else to arrive.</p>
<p>The rest of the Nein arrived in a particular pattern - one Beau kept intricate familiarity with. About twenty minutes after she got back from her workouts, Caleb would show his face, slightly haggard, but awake. His inner alarm clock benefited him in waking up on time. Veth often followed close on his heels, especially since they frequently shared a room.</p>
<p>Fjord came next, no more than ten minutes after Veth. Beau suspected his life at the docks had ingrained the habit into him over the years of work. Jester and Caduceus were a toss up because sometimes Jester arrived first, others it was Caduceus, and sometimes both appeared at the same time. No matter what the order, the clerics always arrived to breakfast looking perky and put together.</p>
<p>Yasha always woke last, and Beau knew it was because the Aasimar always struggled to fall asleep at night. She slept late every morning, and usually just rolled out of bed, straightened out her clothing, and came down to breakfast.</p>
<p>A consistent morning routine that Beau knew by heart, a practice in a punctual routine that soothed like meditation. A promise kept the same way the sun rose every morning.</p>
<p>Sure enough, Beau sat in her seat, nursing her coffee and savoring her bacon as Caleb trudged down to the tavern. His tired blue eyes scanned for her, his feet carrying him her way once he located her. Beau watched as he gave the barmaid his quiet request for breakfast on his way over. The wizard dropped into his seat beside her and yawned a greeting.</p>
<p>Beau slid what remained of her coffee his way in silent commiseration. His fingertips were ink stained, which meant he probably had gotten little sleep, the fool.</p>
<p>Veth came bounding over minutes later, cheerful and sleep rumpled as she perched on Caleb’s other side. Stretching up on her tip-toes, the Halfling planted a sweet kiss to his cheek (a practice only done occasionally) before hollering an order to the barmaid that hollered back.</p>
<p>“Morning,” Beau said as she tugged a piece of bacon into two, trying to make it last longer.</p>
<p>“Morning,” Veth returned, fiddling with her crossbow already. Beau didn’t ask what she was attempting this time, just monitored the mechanism in case it misfired.</p>
<p>Their conversation didn’t extend much past that as Veth continued fiddling and Caleb tried to keep his eyes open. Beau was content with the familiarity.</p>
<p>They had barely finished exchanging pleasantries when Fjord arrived, yawning but alert. The half-Orc caught Beau’s eye with a nod before he wandered over to the bar. She watched him exchange pleasant conversation with the barkeep for a few minutes, probably gleaning some information about the town or surrounding area. He did this sometimes when they got to new towns none of them had heard of or been to before, and it almost always helped.</p>
<p>Beau tracked Fjord’s movements as he left the bar with a coffee, making his way to their table. The barmaid arrived with Caleb and Veth’s plates as Fjord sat down on Veth’s free side.</p>
<p>“Whatever you’ve got works for me,” Fjord said pleasantly, his effortless charm pulling a smile to the woman’s face. She bustled away, and Fjord suppressed another yawn as he turned to the table.</p>
<p>“Barkeep says the town’s been calm ever since the war was called to truce. Decreased presence of guard, not as many brawls in the streets and bars, and trade has been up. I don’t think there’s much going on here if we want to move on later. We might have some luck in the market for rations, but beyond that,” Fjord ended with a shrug.</p>
<p>Beau appreciated his forethought in matters like these, because she sometimes got caught up in the bigger picture. Her mind worked in ways better attuned to connecting threads and digging up nuanced details. Sometimes she could ground herself enough to get shit done in the present, but it was hardly ever regarding mundane day-to-day plans.</p>
<p>“So, shopping and hit the road?” Beau said, tearing her bacon into smaller pieces again.</p>
<p>“Sounds like a plan,” Fjord nodded, sipping at his coffee. The barmaid arrived then with the half-Orc’s food before she bustled off again.</p>
<p>Beau settled into her seat, one leg thrown over Caleb’s lap as he chipped away at his plate. Veth began needling at Fjord in teasing conversation, the half-Orc indulging her with fond exasperation. Beau watched on and chuckled now and then, thoroughly entertained.</p>
<p>Veth had just convinced Fjord to play a game of boulder parchment shears for his last piece of sausage when Caduceus and Jester arrived. The clerics were discussing the benefits of talking to the massive oak tree they saw on their way into town as they took their seats. Jester flounced into the seat beside Fjord, Caduceus sitting on her other side as they kept talking. The pair paused long enough to greet the table before getting back into it.</p>
<p>“I’m just saying - morning guys! - we should try it,” Jester said, eyes boring imploringly into Caduceus’. “Maybe the oak will be friendly!”</p>
<p>“Of course we can try,” Caduceus agreed, setting his staff to lean against the table. “But in my experience, oak trees are always rather stuck up.”</p>
<p>Beau decided not to question how many oak trees Caduceus spoke to in his free time. The barmaid swept up to their table again, distracting the clerics momentarily.</p>
<p>“I’ll have some potatoes and tea, please,” Caduceus drawled with a pleasant smile.</p>
<p>“Do you have any pastries?” Jester asked predictably, violet eyes wide as she twisted in her seat.</p>
<p>“We’ve got muffins?” The barmaid said, eyeing Jester’s bright, eager eyes warily.</p>
<p>“I’ll take three!” The Tiefling chirped. “And a glass of milk, please!”</p>
<p>“Sure,” the barmaid nodded before sweeping off.</p>
<p>Beau gnawed on her bacon as Jester and Caduceus resumed their conversation, Fjord dejectedly losing his sausage to Veth’s victorious crow. Caleb started tapping an absent rhythm against Beau’s knee, and she let him. All was as it should be thus far, Beau’s eyes wandering to the stair as she waited for the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place.</p>
<p>Yasha’s absence when she had been under Obann’s control was a jarring discontinuity to Beau’s routine. She had been off kilter for more than one reason the entire time Yasha had been away. Beau hated to remember those days. As much fun as they had on some of their adventures, there was always that missing piece, that quiet snark that never piped up in conversation. There was no one at her back in those fights, no familiar battle cry, no unyielding support that Beau could fall back on with absolute trust.</p>
<p>She knew Yasha was last to rise, but the passing minutes never failed to pulse in Beau’s veins with anxiety. An irrational yet rational fear that she would never show.</p>
<p>Beau counted the minutes, tuning out conversation, absently aware of Caleb’s pattern against her kneecap.</p>
<p>Yasha stumbled down the stairs, tugging her tunic into order as she made her way over to their table. A surprising amount of tension bled from Beau’s shoulders with every step closer Yasha took. Jester came up from devouring her muffins long enough to greet Yasha, crumbs falling out of her mouth as she did.</p>
<p>“Mornin’ Yafa!” Jester managed through her food. The Aasimar offered the Tiefling a sleepy smile as she headed for the only empty seat between Caduceus and Beau.</p>
<p>“Good morning,” Yasha murmured as she rounded the table. Her eyelids still drooped with exhaustion she had yet to shake off. But she smiled small and warm at them all, her eyes landing on Beau as she stepped up beside the monk. Fondness made Beau feel like her heart was melting in her chest as she grinned up at Yasha, tipping her head back to catch her eye.</p>
<p>Yasha bent down and planted a quick, sweet peck on Beau’s lips, the monk’s smile curling wider as Yasha pulled away with a murmured, “morning Beau.”</p>
<p>The Aasimar wandered off to the bar a moment later to get a drink, yawning as she did. Beau happily went back to her bacon, picking it into pieces and popping them in her mouth. It took her a few moments to realize that something had changed.</p>
<p>Looking up, Beau froze with bacon halfway to her mouth when she found everyone at the table staring at her in stunned silence. Caleb’s tapping against her knee had ceased, Veth’s mouth was hanging open with sausage half-chewed. Fjord and Caduceus were giving her matching stares that were somehow both knowing and awed. Jester looked as if she were two seconds away from combusting into glitter.</p>
<p>“What?” Beau asked, somewhat defensively.</p>
<p>“Beau!” Jester exploded, squealing loudly. “You didn’t tell me you and Yasha finally talked!”</p>
<p>Beau’s cheeks grew hot, and she put her bacon down slowly. “Talked about what?”</p>
<p>“You kissed Yasha like it was a normal, everyday thing!” Veth said, thankfully swallowing her mouthful of food beforehand. “When did that happen?”</p>
<p>Beau froze, eyes going wide.</p>
<p><em>Oh</em>.</p>
<p>“Uh...just now.”</p>
<p>“What?” Fjord said, brows furrowing.</p>
<p>“It happened just now,” Beau said, quiet and struck.</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh,” Jester gushed, practically vibrating in her seat. “That was your first kiss with Yasha? And it was that easy? And we all got to see it? That’s <em>so</em> romantic, Beau!”</p>
<p>Beau’s eyes flit to where Yasha stood at the bar. The Aasimar had twisted around to look back at the table, eyes wide and mouth agape. Clearly, she had come to the same realization as Beau. That same fondness from before softened everything in Beau’s countenance near instantly, and she smiled across the tavern at Yasha. She watched the Aasimar blush as she grinned back, turning to the barkeep to order when they came up to Yasha.</p>
<p>“I guess it is pretty romantic,” Beau whispered.</p>
<p>Veth and Jester squealed with each other as Fjord and Caduceus went back to their breakfasts. Caleb gently pinched the inside of Beau’s knee where her leg was still across his lap. He smiled when she looked at him and squeezed her ankle.</p>
<p>Beau’s chest felt full to bursting when she realized that her happiness could spread so easily among this family she had cultivated. She settled into her seat as Yasha came back and held her hand under the table for the duration of their meal.</p>
<p>This was something new Beau wouldn’t mind adding to their routine.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. and love you blindly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 11: morning kisses that are exchanged before either person opens their eyes, kissing blindly until their lips meet in a blissful encounter.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i have been so uninspired lately and struggling quite a lot but please have a soft beauyasha in these trying times</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Beau groggily blinked her eyes open, she knew without looking that it was some ungodly hour of the morning. If it was too early by her standards, Beau was more than ready to roll over and go back to bed. But something seemed off, something she couldn’t place in her addled state.</p>
<p>Hand sliding over the bed sheets toward Yasha, everything clicked into place when she felt the cold, vacant sheets.</p>
<p>Abruptly sitting up, Beau blinked against the spinning in her head and the sleep in her eyes, forcing her gaze around the dimly lit room. Their bedroom was still a little foreign to Beau, considering they had only moved into their new apartment last week. The furniture sat in a familiar arrangement, placed almost exactly the way it had been at Yasha’s old place, but Beau’s things now found a home nestled among Yasha’s. The paint on the walls was a different color, and the windows sat on a different side. This was home now, and Yasha lived with her all the time.</p>
<p>It was different, and Beau seldom took well to different. But this change she had been more than ready for.</p>
<p>So Yasha missing from their bed at such an early hour set Beau’s nerves thrumming in an unpleasant rhythm.</p>
<p>Shoving the sheets aside and untangling her legs from their warm embrace, Beau shivered as her bare feet touched the hardwood. Yasha’s favorite black fuzzy socks lay discarded near the foot of the bed, so Beau slipped them on before shuffling from their bedroom.</p>
<p>The hallway and the bathroom were dark, but the light in the kitchen was on. Beau trudged her way toward it, stifling a yawn behind her hand as she did. Her hair was loose from sleep, so she pulled it over one shoulder and out of her face as she rounded the corner.</p>
<p>Yasha sat on the floor, legs crossed and a half-eaten brownie in her hand. Her matted, braided hair sat in even more disarray than usual, mussed from sleep and finger-worried stress. She looked up at Beau when the other rounded the corner and met Beau’s raised eyebrow with a silent blink. The container of brownies that Jester had gifted them as a housewarming present perched precariously near the edge of the counter above Yasha’s head.</p>
<p>“Morning,” Beau deadpanned.</p>
<p>“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Yasha whispered in reply.</p>
<p>Beau sighed and shuffled over to Yasha, shooing her arms to the side so she could nestle into the other woman’s lap. Tucking her head against Yasha’s shoulder, Beau yawned again and pressed her cold nose to Yasha’s bare shoulder in retaliation for being awake at such an ungodly hour. Yasha - to her credit - didn’t flinch.</p>
<p>“Why are you eating a brownie on the floor at half-past three?”</p>
<p>“I had a craving?” Yasha said, arms winding around Beau as her eyes flit to the side.</p>
<p>“Mhm,” Beau hummed, plucking the brownie from Yasha’s fingers and stealing a bite before giving it back. “Any other reason?”</p>
<p>The taller woman closed her eyes as she sighed, heavy and weary. Beau looked up in time to catch the flicker of guilt in Yasha’s dual colored irises as she opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling.</p>
<p>“I haven’t been able to settle or sleep like I used to.” Yasha shoved the rest of the brownie into her mouth and took it as an excuse to draw out her thought process. Beau could practically see the gears turning in her girlfriend’s head, so she kept quiet.</p>
<p>“I don’t regret moving,” Yasha murmured after she finished her mouthful. “I don’t want you to think I do.”</p>
<p>“I didn’t,” Beau reassured her quickly, easily. “I don’t.”</p>
<p>Yasha flashed Beau a small smile, arms tightening their hold around the woman in her lap.</p>
<p>“I’ve just never been good about sleeping in unfamiliar places, and even though this place is ours now it just...doesn’t feel like it yet?”</p>
<p>Beau nodded, tucking her head back down against Yasha’s shoulder, and traced mindless patterns against Yasha’s forearm. She understood a bit of that sentiment, because her first place had felt the same. Being kicked out of her parents’ house was abrupt and with brief ceremony. Her shit hole, shoe box apartment had breathed like freedom and suffocation simultaneously. Beau had spent more time couch-hopping than she had living in that place.</p>
<p>It hadn’t felt any safer, any more like her own space, than her bedroom in her parents’ place had.</p>
<p>“We can fix that,” Beau said to Yasha’s collarbone. “But maybe we can fix it when the sun is up and we’ve had breakfast?”</p>
<p>Yasha’s eyes flicked to the clock on the stove and she winced, reminded of the hour. Beau didn’t want her to feel guilty, so she kept talking, ignoring the urge to yawn.</p>
<p>“There’s a flower shop a couple blocks over that I saw on my run the other day. Let’s go buy a bunch to put in vases, okay? And Jester said that she got promoted at the bakery, so I bet we can convince her to slip us some cookies. Oh, and I think Cad wants to use us as guinea pigs for a new tea blend. We can invite him over?”</p>
<p>She looked up at Yasha and found her girlfriend smiling down at Beau with watery eyes, fond as anything. Beau’s instinct was to shy away from such raw emotion, because she didn’t know how to handle gratitude. But Yasha just pressed a quiet kiss to her forehead and murmured a heartfelt, “I would like that.”</p>
<p>“Great,” Beau managed, overwhelmed with emotion from such a simple moment. One would never guess they had been dating for almost three years now. “But...morning. Later morning. I need to sleep.”</p>
<p>In an unfair and absolutely unnecessary show of strength, Yasha scooped Beau into her arms and stood with ease. Beau squeaked in surprise and clung to Yasha’s shoulders as her girlfriend laughed quietly and carried Beau back toward their bedroom.</p>
<p>“Show off,” Beau grumbled.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Waking up hours later - somehow twice in the same morning - was massively disorientating. It felt like a separate day entirely with the morning sunlight filtering through their curtains. Beau squinted, groaned and rolled over, burying herself against Yasha beside her. Her girlfriend was sleeping on her side, facing Beau, and stirred at the contact. One arm slipped around Beau in a sleepy hug as Yasha stretched her legs beneath the sheets.</p>
<p>“Mornin’,” Beau grumbled against Yasha’s neck. “Again.”</p>
<p>Yasha, yet to open her eyes, pressed a lazy kiss to Beau’s hairline. Beau had squeezed her eyes shut again, content to sleep a little while longer. But then Yasha’s lips brushed against Beau’s temple, her cheek, stumbled over Beau’s nose, and she realized. Yasha was blindly trying to find her lips. Pulling slightly back, Beau took a guess of direction and was rewarded with the warm, sleepy press of Yasha’s lips against her own.</p>
<p>Beau sighed with content into the contact, and Yasha’s arm around her waist kept her bracketed in.</p>
<p>Eventually, they pulled back, noses brushing, as Beau murmured, “your morning breath kiss tastes like brownies.” Yasha laughed and bundled Beau into her chest, rolling onto her back and taking Beau with her. The shorter of the two squeaked with surprise, eyes finally opening, as she found herself sprawled across Yasha’s chest.</p>
<p>“Hi,” Beau managed, drinking in the sight of Yasha’s hair splayed against the pillows, the sunlight slanting over her cheekbones. Yasha beamed up at Beau and pressed her hand to Beau’s cheek.</p>
<p>“Thank you, for earlier,” Yasha whispered, twisting her fingers through Beau’s loose hair. “You didn’t have to come up with all of that to help me, but I think it will.”</p>
<p>“This is <em>our</em> home, Yash,” Beau said. “Whatever it takes to make you feel safe here, I’ll do it without question.”</p>
<p>Yasha raised an eyebrow at that, the corner of her lips quirking up. “Even if I want to paint the living room yellow?”</p>
<p>“Anything,” Beau reiterated, voice serious. “Even if we aren’t allowed to paint because of the landlord or whatever, I’ll do it if it makes you happy.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Yasha said, throat working as her eyes grew watery. “I don’t need you to get into any more trouble with our landlord, but I appreciate the thought.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Beau scoffed. “The fire alarm thing was <em>not</em> my fault, and the fact that he chose to believe it was is not my problem.”</p>
<p>“I think it kind of is your problem.”</p>
<p>“I mean it is, but my point stands.”</p>
<p>Yasha’s laughter was like music to Beau’s ears, the stretch of her smile brighter than the sun. And maybe Yasha was already feeling more at home than before, with the warm weight of Beau on her chest and laughter in her lungs.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. all the stars your eyes could hold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 12: sneaking away to a hidden corner to share a secretive kiss.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i wrote this somewhere between tipsy and drunk and am posting it as such. enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The circumstances under which the Mighty Nein found themselves invited to yet another party in Nicodranas were unclear. Beau was fairly certain it involved someone wanting Marion to perform, but had placed it under the guise of requesting the Nein’s attendance.</p>
<p>Ever since they assisted in the tentative peace treaty between the Empire and the Dynasty, word had been getting around about them. It was mildly unsettling for someone like Beau, who meant to operate in shadow. Thankfully, her more exuberant and colorful party members tended to garner the spotlight.</p>
<p>Leaning against an obnoxiously ostentatious marble column, nursing a drink far too fruity for her taste, Beau scanned the crowd. Caduceus had offered to gift her with True Sight again, but Beau had turned him down. While she appreciated the gesture, she wanted to be present this time.</p>
<p>Nobles in all states of fancy dress swept across the dance floor before her. Women with billowing skirts as they twirled through the ballroom, offering tittering laughter behind fans or hands adorned in silk gloves. Men with ornate suit coats sporting flushed cheeks as they drank away their decorum. Individuals dressed in pristine costume somewhere between a full skirt and fitted breeches flit between the food and drink and the dance floor. It was the sort of contained, upright chaos that Beau grew up around in Kamordah. It was a breed of debauchery that masqueraded as a proper party only nobles could attend and achieve.</p>
<p>With a heavy sigh, Beau took a long drag of her overly sweet drink and prayed the night would end soon.</p>
<p>As much as she loved wearing her slate grey suit, catching many approving, hungry stares from the women here, Beau was tired. Parties like these were far too pompous for her, pointless entertainment for nobles who had nothing better to do with their time.</p>
<p>She was considering slipping out to the garden for some quiet when a soft voice spoke up behind her.</p>
<p>“Beau?”</p>
<p>Twisting to peer over her shoulder, Beau worked hard to maintain her hold on her drink.</p>
<p>Yasha strode toward her, all but glowing in the sensual party lighting.</p>
<p>Jester insisted on splurging for a new dress for Yasha the day before. Something about wanting to amend the height of the slit because she knew Yasha was a little uncomfortable with it. Whatever the real reason was, Beau had no arguments because Yasha’s new dress was stunning. Made of a similar dark velvet as the previous one, this new garment draped over Yasha’s physique enticingly.</p>
<p>The dress was one-shouldered, a long cape of soft fabric cascading down Yasha’s back from the sleeveless strap. Her neckline was trimmed with silver flower embroidery, and a simple off-white belt cinched the length of the skirt into an empire waist. Veth had gently bullied the Aasimar into letting the Halfling style Yasha’s hair. So her now almost entirely white hair was pinned to drape down one side, the braids re-done and ancient tangles brushed smooth.</p>
<p>Simple, elegant, and extremely attractive.</p>
<p>Beau reminded herself to thank Jester for remembering to put the cape on the arm Yasha didn’t have a tattoo on. The jade ink was shimmering in the party’s dim lighting, and Beau had to make sure she wasn’t drooling.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Beau finally remembered to answer, eloquent as always.</p>
<p>Yasha’s lips twitched as she chuckled, coming to stand beside Beau. The monk watched as Yasha’s eyes swept over the crowd, a bit of unease flickering across the woman’s expression.</p>
<p>“You okay, Yasha?” Beau murmured, shifting closer to where their shoulders brushed.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” the Aasimar said, aiming a smile Beau’s way that did anything but convince her that Yasha was okay. “I just don’t really know what to do at parties. And people keep staring at me.”</p>
<p>Beau could hardly blame them. But it seemed to be a reoccurring theme with Yasha that wherever she went, both the best and the worst seemed to be drawn toward the Aasimar’s aura. Beau often failed at reigning in her jealousy born of protective instinct.</p>
<p>“Well then,” Beau pushed off the pillar, downed her drink against the burn of alcohol in her throat, and beamed at Yasha. “Shall we wander, then?”</p>
<p>Yasha blinked at Beau, giving the human a slow, shy smile and a nod, a quiet, “sure.”</p>
<p>Making their way around the perimeter of the ballroom, Beau caught sight of Jester swirling Fjord around the floor. The little Tiefling was grinning ear to ear and Beau could see her giggling giddily as her pink chiffon swirled around her and Fjord’s legs. The half-Orc was smiling with fond amusement down at whatever Jester was saying, looking rather smitten. Their second lap around the ballroom, deep in discussion about what the Elf wearing a bright green ball gown might do for a living, Beau scanned again. This time she spotted Veth and Caleb sitting at a table with Caduceus, the Halfling talking with rapid intent and animated hand-gestures. Caleb seemed fixated on whatever she was talking about, nodding every few seconds. Caduceus, smiling indulgently, caught Beau’s eye after a second. The Firbolg raised a brow her way and made a slight shooing gesture.</p>
<p>Waving Caduceus off, Beau continued her conversation with Yasha. But she did subtly steer them towards the exit, remembering the small side garden she had spotted on the way in. Part of her hoped it would offer some quiet, the other part hoped to see that adorable grin Yasha got on her face whenever she saw flowers.</p>
<p>Sure enough, the second they stepped out of the side hall and into the moonlit garden, Yasha’s lips curled into a wider smile. Beau trailed off from her description of a very crude occupation the Elf back in the ballroom could have to watch Yasha smile. The Aasimar’s profile all but glowed in the silver night, Beau transfixed with the way Yasha’s smile pushed her cheeks to round and scrunched her nose just a little. Her eyes crinkled at the corners just so, and Beau studied the temporary crow’s feet that nestled there.</p>
<p>Yasha looked her way and Beau blinked back at her, smiling in return on instinct.</p>
<p>“It’s gorgeous out here, Beau. How did you know this was here?”</p>
<p>“I just...saw it on the way in. Figured you might like it better than inside.”</p>
<p>“It’s very beautiful,” Yasha agreed, sweeping a look over the flowers as she walked through the neatly planted flora. Beau followed, drawn toward her like a moon caught in orbit with no choice but to gravitate.</p>
<p>As they strolled through the garden together, Beau’s hands shoved in her pockets, she tipped her head back to stare at the stars and the low-hanging moon. Maybe it was the nearby ocean, but she swore the night sky always shone brighter in Nicodranas. Yasha’s hair caught Beau’s attention out of the corner of her eye, all but glowing in the silver moonlight.</p>
<p>Everything about the Aasimar beside her beckoned like a lure, and Beau wondered not for the first time how she could have ever lived without Yasha. It was one of those moments where she found herself hard pressed to remember a time before Yasha, before the Nein. There was always an unfortunate set of memories that never failed to surface, but the more mundane memories were harder to access. Everything she did with the Nein felt like they had always been together, had always understood her. Beau knew it wasn’t the truth, but she didn’t care.</p>
<p>They were with her now, that was what mattered.</p>
<p>Time, Beau thought, was such a fickle and inconsistent mistress. She always lingered, but she didn’t serve everyone kindly or evenly.</p>
<p>Some got less - like Mollymauk. Some got more - like Caduceus brought back from death. And some like Lucien got multiple chances, while others like Yasha couldn’t even recall what Time had already given them.</p>
<p>Beau, uncertain where she fell on that sliding scale, knew one thing for sure.</p>
<p>“Yasha,” Beau said in a voice that sounded steadier than she felt. Back near the building where they started, Beau spotted an alcove with a small pristine marble fountain tucked into it. The Aasimar looked over at Beau curiously as the monk grabbed Yasha’s elbow and huddled them into the corner.</p>
<p>Yasha looked surprised as Beau put her own back against the wall and drew Yasha in closer. Even in the half light from the moon, Beau saw the blush on Yasha’s cheeks turning darker, her sturdy hands finding purchase on Beau’s hips.</p>
<p>“I’ll be honest,” Beau sighed, emboldened by the simple action. “This isn’t quite how I pictured doing this. I had, like, this whole thing planned with the tower, but I don’t think I can wait any longer.”</p>
<p>Yasha’s eyes seemed entirely transfixed on Beau’s lips, as if watching the monk craft every syllable she spoke.</p>
<p>“I read your letter,” Beau confessed in a rush. “I actually read it like...weeks ago. And at first I uh...I didn’t know what to do. I had told myself that I wouldn’t make a move, that the ball was in your court because of all the shit you’ve gone through. But then you <em>did</em> make a move, and I haven’t ever really had someone look at me and understand me in the way you do. So I kind of panicked and procrastinated and told myself I’d figure something out. But then all this shit kept happening, and it never felt like the right time to breach the topic, y’know? But then I realized...we’re never promised tomorrow. Especially people like us. So uh...in an effort to spend as much time with you as possible, because I really want to spend <em>a lot</em> of time with you...”</p>
<p>Beau had to pause for a breath, her own cheeks now warm with the emotions swirling messily in her chest.</p>
<p>“I really like you, Yasha,” Beau whispered, feeling short of breath. “In a way that’s kind of terrifying, but that I’m also super into. I like you in a way that makes me nervous, the same feeling I get when we do something fun and dangerous. My heart races and there’s this thrill in my veins. I get stuck in this five-foot world that’s composed of everything and everyone I can see in the moment.”</p>
<p>Biting down on her tongue to stop her rambling and catch her breath, Beau looked up at Yasha. The Aasimar’s fingers curled a little tighter around Beau’s hips, and her lips parted with surprise. Wide eyes and flushed cheeks greeted Beau’s frantic search for emotion, and the monk was acutely aware of her own heart pounding behind her ribs. The moonlight back-lit Yasha, outlining her in silver, and Beau swore for a moment that it crafted a halo above the barbarian’s head.</p>
<p>“Beau,” Yasha whispered. “Can I kiss you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau rushed out breathlessly. “Please.”</p>
<p>Yasha ducked her head down so quickly that the press of her lips against Beau’s ended up gently knocking the monk’s head against the wall behind her. Beau didn’t mind at all, too busy smiling against Yasha’s lips and reaching to wrap her arms around the Aasimar’s neck.</p>
<p>It felt like all the air fled from Beau’s lungs for a moment, leaving her breathless and dizzy. The wall at her back and Yasha’s hands on her hips seemed like the only things keeping her upright at the moment. She had wanted to kiss Yasha for a while, but had never put much thought into it beyond that. Beau never imagined what it would <em>feel</em> like to kiss Yasha.</p>
<p>It was like melting and solidifying in the same instance. Beau had never felt more bodily present than she did at that moment, every place Yasha connected with her a physical anchor for her soul. But in the same breath, every fiber of her insides turned to contented mush under the searing, moonlit heat of the Aasimar’s attention.</p>
<p>Their kiss could have lasted seconds or minutes, and Beau wouldn’t have cared either way. Yasha pulled back enough for their noses to brush as they caught their breath.</p>
<p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” Beau managed eventually, sounding strangled with giddy pleasure.</p>
<p>Yasha smirked and offered a quiet, “maybe later, yeah?”</p>
<p>Beau’s brain promptly short-circuited and she stuttered what one might consider an enthusiastic agreement. Yasha took amused mercy on her after a moment and stepped back to let Beau breathe.</p>
<p>“We should uhm...” Yasha started, then stopped, glancing over her shoulder.</p>
<p>“Head back in?” Beau squeaked, recovered enough to speak once more.</p>
<p>“Probably,” Yasha nodded. The Aasimar hesitated, holding out her arm in an awkward, wordless invitation. Beau stared at her for a moment before recognizing the gesture for what it was. Straightening out her jacket with a firm tug and brisk pat down, the monk wound her arm through Yasha’s elbow and shot a giddy grin her way.</p>
<p>Beau decided, as they made their way back into the ballroom, that this was definitely one of the best parties she had ever been to.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. we could be...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 13: butterfly kisses against the other’s cheeks.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>merry crisis</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Yasha left Xhorhaus, she had no mementos to remember Zuala. No pictures or portraits, no scrap of cloth or locks of hair. All she possessed were memories - the curve of her wife’s lips when she laughed, the press of her fingers against Yasha’s skin, the way the light caught and shone in Zuala’s eye.</p>
<p>The flowers pressed between the pages of her book were the closest thing Yasha had to physical reminders. Even those now sat dried and dead, browned and fragile.</p>
<p>Sometimes she saw bits of her late wife in her new friends. Zuala was there in the way Veth’s eyes lit up when she found something intriguing, rung through Jester’s delighted laughter, and stood tall in the way Fjord brandished his sword. It didn’t hurt to find her in these flashes and glimpses like it used to. Not because Yasha didn’t miss Zuala, but because she had come to terms with what happened.</p>
<p>And her heart felt drawn to another in a way that she no longer worried was traitorous.</p>
<p>The first time she had looked at Beau and felt that desire spark to life in her gut, Yasha hated herself for a solid week. Marriage in her tribe was for life, a bond that even death couldn’t break. Although her tribe had deemed her marriage to Zuala illegal, Yasha held that custom close to her chest.</p>
<p>But Beau.</p>
<p>Beau, who was unlike Zuala in so many ways, but caught hold of Yasha’s heart and handled it like the most precious item in the world.</p>
<p>No matter how hard Yasha tried to convince herself that she didn’t deserve Beau, couldn’t look at Beau, she fell anyway. She caught herself imagining Beau in ways she once shared with Zuala. Pictured Beau waking up beside her in the morning, walking through towns and markets with her fingers intertwined with Beau’s in a subtle gesture. She wondered how her hands would fit against the curve of Beau’s waist, how the monk might feel against her side and under her arm.</p>
<p>The one thing Yasha never had to imagine was how Beau would stand beside her in battle.</p>
<p>Where Zuala had been domineering with her breadth and bulk, looking like it would take an army to move her, Beau was nimble. Beau flit between the bodies on the battlefield like she had wings on her heels and the wind in her veins. Her fists moved with the speed of the lightning her gauntlets created, and Yasha found herself consistently in awe of her prowess.</p>
<p>Even now, as they stood scattered among their enemies, Yasha caught flashes of Beau’s blue clothing in her peripheral. The monk moved like a blur as she ducked and wove between allies and foes, striking blows as she went.</p>
<p>It was incredible that she still moved with such speed and precision with how long the fight had been going on. They usually dispatched and handled enemies in under a minute. This time, however, the battle had been running at the same intensity for near ten minutes. They were accustomed to short bursts of intense combat, and the prolonged skirmish was taking a toll.</p>
<p>Their spell casters seemed to be running on fumes, and Yasha caught Veth scooping up used bolts to reload her crossbow more than once. Yasha’s sword felt four times heavier than it usually did, and she had no idea how Beau had the stamina to keep moving.</p>
<p>It was then that everything seemed to happen at once.</p>
<p>Yasha cut the enemy in front of her to the ground with a definitive strike, heaving as she did. Across the field, Beau ducked in close to land a well-aimed jab at another enemy’s ribs, putting herself in a vulnerable position. The monk fell to the ground with a cut off cry of pain seconds later.</p>
<p>Yasha’s rage intensified.</p>
<p>Caleb and Jester both pulled intense looking spells from seemingly nowhere. Flames and radiant pink energy exploded and their remaining foes dropped at once.</p>
<p>The tension snapped like taffy stretched too thin.</p>
<p>Fjord was closest to Beau’s prone form, his hand grasping her shoulder and flashing with a pale green burst as Yasha limped quickly over. Whatever the half-Orc did was enough to have Beau gasping weakly back to consciousness. Some of Yasha’s lingering rage subsided as she knelt beside Beau, placing a careful hand between the monk’s shoulder blades. Between Fjord and Yasha, they got her sitting upright.</p>
<p>Exchanging a knowing look with Yasha, Fjord clapped his hand to Beau’s shoulder before he shoved unsteadily to his feet. Yasha watched him stumble toward the others, his hand reaching to grasp Jester’s elbow.</p>
<p>“Fuck,” Beau groaned, regaining Yasha’s attention. The monk was streaked in blood and covered in bruises. “That last one really hurt.”</p>
<p>Yasha’s hands moved on instinct, cupping Beau’s cheeks as her hands glowed with a gentle, pale light. The monk all but melted in her hold, eyes fluttering shut with a content sigh. Beau sank into Yasha’s hold as a tiny grin curled at her lips.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah,” Beau slurred. “That’s the stuff. Thanks, Yash.”</p>
<p>“You’re welcome,” Yasha murmured with a deep set fondness, leaving her hands against Beau’s cheeks.</p>
<p>She settled beside the monk, tucking the other woman between her sprawled legs. Thumb stroking across Beau’s cheekbone in a soothing, continuous rhythm, something tugged at the underside of her heart. Deep in her memories, Yasha remembered.</p>
<p>Exhausted after seemingly endless battles, or after trying days of continuous drills and training, Zuala. Her late wife would hold Yasha’s face with gentle intent, pretending to examine Yasha for injuries. She would lean in close, act as if she were whispering or leaning to reach for something. Either way, Zuala would get close enough to leave a fluttering mock of a kiss to Yasha’s skin.</p>
<p>A public gesture of affection that wouldn’t get them killed.</p>
<p>Yasha knew that she didn’t have to pretend or hide away her affection for Beau. They were free here, and everything she wanted to do to share her adoration with the little monk before her, she could.</p>
<p>But they were drained and filthy, and the simple gesture was another piece of Zuala that Yasha had clung to for a long time. It was an easy, familiar act of affection - one that she wanted to share with Beau.</p>
<p>Leaning down, Yasha used her hands on Beau’s cheeks to tilt her face to the side. Beau looked confused, but went willingly.</p>
<p>It was a mock of a kiss, a whisper of fluttering eyelashes against Beau’s cheekbone that began and ended with little fanfare. Yasha turned her face enough to press her forehead against Beau’s sweaty, dirty temple and lingered. After watching the monk hit the ground, this easy proximity was more than enough.</p>
<p>“Yasha?” Beau murmured, her hands curled around Yasha’s wrists. The Aasimar hummed in response, prompting Beau to continue. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Yasha answered, lips dragging against the skin of Beau’s sweaty cheek as she formed the word. Pulling back enough to look the monk in the eye, Yasha pushed out a quiet sigh and shifted her weight. Settling them both more comfortably on the dry ground, Yasha gathered the words to explain. Beau hadn’t asked, but Yasha could recognize that spark of curiosity in her eye.</p>
<p>“Zuala and I used to do that, that thing I just did. She never named it, but we did it all the time to show each other our affection when we were in public. It was easy to hide it sometimes, and it was like a...reminder. I know...we don’t have to hide. It just felt...right?”</p>
<p>Yasha watched as Beau’s face softened and her fingers squeezed gently against Yasha’s wrists.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Beau said, tucking herself comfortably against Yasha’s shoulder. “For sharing that with me.”</p>
<p>Winding her arms around Beau’s frame, watching their friends nearby from over the monk’s head against her shoulder, Yasha felt entirely content. She had said to Veth once that they were a tribe, that she had to look out for them and protect them. Yasha wasn’t sure if they had all understood the weight behind her claim. But watching over them all now, Beau a warm presence in her lap, Yasha found herself settled. Even if they didn’t understand her quiet gestures in the way Beau did, they called her family.</p>
<p>It was more than enough.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. star-crossed lovers and other tragedies made right</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 14: a kiss so desperate that the two wind around each other, refusing to let go until they are finished.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this prompt gave me reason to execute an idea i've had, then it made me suffer, this piece is long but i cannot guarantee it's good.</p>
<p>enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Wildemount, where we lay our scene.</em>
</p>
<p>One of Beauregard Lionett’s earliest memories was of her parents sitting her down and telling her she would one day be wed in matters of business rather than love. Her mother had taken Beau’s tiny hands in her own delicate ones and told her to never fall in love. Her father, with his eyes hard and unforgiving, warned her to always be on her best behavior. She could never remember what age she had been, but the lofty dollhouse from her fourth birthday still sat in the corner of her bedroom.</p>
<p>Perhaps that had been her harbinger, because not long after, her memories of Yasha began.</p>
<p>Beau’s family estate was in Kamordah, but four times a year, they made the brief trip to Zadash for business and personal matters alike. It was there, among the sprawling, weaving streets of the Pentamarket, that they met. Beau had ducked from her mother’s side to go exploring, rucking up her skirts with distaste as she went. Though she never got to explore on her own before, she was enthralled by the array of options before her. Pristine tents alongside ramshackle booths, steaming baked goods and glittering jewelry hawked with the same enthusiasm as mere trinkets. Her bones all but vibrated with the resonance and life that defined the market streets.</p>
<p>Rounding a corner, Beau’s eye caught on a stall selling trinkets and flowers and bolts of fabric. She trotted her way over, the tiny coin purse she had hidden at her waist jingling quietly. Beau eyed up the trinkets with interest, pushed onto her tiptoes to view the toys. As she stood inspecting the spread on the short table, a flash of white in Beau’s peripheral caught her attention.</p>
<p>Turning, Beau blinked wide eyes at the girl beside her. She stood several inches taller than Beau and looked a few years older. Her hair was shockingly white and her clothing rather plain in style and color. Beau envied that she got to wear breeches while she was stuck with her dress. The flowers assorted behind the table caught the girl’s attention, and Beau tried to return her focus to the trinkets. But they didn’t seem to have the same allure now as they had before the girl walked up.</p>
<p>“May I have one of those?” A soft voice spoke from the direction of the girl. Beau flicked a look sideways, surprised that for all her sturdiness, she sounded so sweet.</p>
<p>“Three copper,” the stall owner croaked, reaching for the stem.</p>
<p>“Oh,” the girl hesitated, catching her lower lip between her teeth and clenching a fist. “I only have two.”</p>
<p>“Here,” Beau spoke before she even thought the action through. She dug her neatly embroidered coin purse free of her belt and produced a copper piece. Holding it out to the girl beside her, Beau didn’t smile, just waited expectantly.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” the girl whispered, cheeks pink. “But I can’t.”</p>
<p>“Sure you can,” Beau shrugged, growing a little impatient. “It’s my allowance, and I want you to take it for the flower.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Beau sighed in a manner her mother would have a fit over. “My arm is getting tired, do you want the flower or not?”</p>
<p>With great hesitation, the white-haired girl reached out and took the copper piece from Beau. The stall owner flicked a look between the two before snatching the coin from the girl’s hand and passing over the bloom. Trinkets forgotten, Beau trot after the girl who had retreated a few shy steps from the stall.</p>
<p>“What’s your name?”</p>
<p>“Yasha,” the girl blinked down at Beau, confused rather than annoyed by her continued presence. “Thank you for helping me. What’s your name?”</p>
<p>Beau waved the girl’s gratitude away, unfamiliar with how she might accept it.</p>
<p>“It was just a copper piece,” Beau said, noticing now that Yasha had two different colored irises. “I’m Beau.”</p>
<p>“I suppose,” Yasha agreed, weaving the long stem of the flower between her fingers. “I forgot my coin purse at the inn, so I only had a few on me.”</p>
<p>“Where are you staying?” Beau inquired, keeping pace with Yasha as they strode through the bustling market streets. She wondered briefly if her mother was frantic over her missing daughter yet or not.</p>
<p>“The <em>Lodge of the Eclipse</em>,” Yasha’s voice pulled Beau back. “My parents are in town for business.”</p>
<p>Lips twisting, Beau kicked a loose stone in her path, tracking it as it skittered between patrons’ feet. “Mine too, but we’re staying at the <em>Pillow Trove</em>.”</p>
<p>If Yasha understood the implications of her family’s wealth and status by that comment, she didn’t show it. The girl continued weaving the flower stem through her fingers and trudged alongside Beau. She was never very good at conversation with others, one of the many reasons Beau lacked any friends back home. Thankfully, the lively chatter of the market streets filled the silence between them as they walked.</p>
<p>Eventually, they happened upon a small group of children playing a game with a tattered leather ball on a small off-shoot path. Perking up, Beau turned to Yasha and pointed with excitement.</p>
<p>“Do you want to play? We should ask them!”</p>
<p>Yasha looked at the flower in her hands and pressed her lips together in a thin line. Beau looked down at the bloom and then back at Yasha’s face.</p>
<p>“If you’re worried about it, I could put it in one of your braids.” While Beau’s mother had styled her daughter’s braids with great care into a firm, intricate bun, Yasha’s hair was mostly loose. There were braids and twists scattered throughout her mess of white hair, and Beau envied the freedom she could see in the style. She was never allowed to wear her hair the way she wanted to.</p>
<p>But Yasha handed over the flower and crouched for Beau to weave it through one of the older girl’s braids with clumsy fingers. Once it was secure, she grabbed Yasha’s hand and dragged her over to the other children. They eyed Beau’s skirts with hesitation at first, but when she proved the awful dress didn’t hinder her dexterity, they were eager to add more players.</p>
<p>She reveled in the freedom of being able to play with other children, laughing with abandon and working to help her team maintain their lead over the other. Even Yasha’s timid uncertainty vanished after a few minutes, her multi-colored eyes sparkling as she laughed along. A few adults paused their errands to watch them play, cheering one team or another on before going about their business. Others wove hastily through their game with a sneer and without a backward glance.</p>
<p>For once in her life, Beau didn’t care.</p>
<p>As they played, the sun passing on its journey above them, Beau’s foot caught on a loose cobblestone and she went tumbling to the ground. With a loud <em>oof</em> of impact, Beau lay stunned for a moment. Blinking against the disorientation, she winced and hissed at the sharp sting of pain on her knee. When she tugged her skirt up enough to see what happened, Beau found a jagged shard of stone pressed into her skinned knee. She tugged it free with a flinch as Yasha knelt in front of her, very obviously concerned.</p>
<p>“I’m okay,” Beau reassured her, voice shaky with fading adrenaline. “It just stings.”</p>
<p>Yasha caught her lower lip between her teeth before reaching out to place her hands on either side of Beau’s knee. With a deep breath and a low pulse of light, the blood vanished to leave behind the faintest outline of broken skin. The stinging faded rapidly, and the sharp pain replaced with a mere dull ache.</p>
<p>“Whoa,” Beau breathed, blue eyes wide. “How did you do that?”</p>
<p>With a shrug, Yasha helped tug Beau to her feet, looking bashful. “I’ve always been able to do it.”</p>
<p>Before Beau could respond, the sound of hurried footsteps against the cobblestone reached them over the hum of the market.</p>
<p>“Beauregard!” Her mother’s voice made Beau’s little shoulders tense. “Where have you <em>been</em>? I’ve been worried sick! What happened to your dress? Young lady, you are in so much trouble.”</p>
<p>Clara’s soft hand clamped around Beau’s arm and yanked her away from Yasha. The woman knelt to inspect her daughter with fitful motions and sweeping hands, attempting to brush the worst of the dirt from the dress. Moments later, satisfied that Beau seemed at least in one piece, the frustration and anger returned to her expression.</p>
<p>“I was just playing, mom,” Beau grumbled, twisting her fingers through her ruined dress. “You were looking at boring stuff.”</p>
<p>“Beauregard, you—” Clara cut herself off with a strained sigh, shaking her head. She shoved to her feet and held out an expectant hand. “Let’s go, young lady. Your father is expecting us for dinner.”</p>
<p>Beau knew better than to keep her mother waiting, but she twisted to look over her shoulder at Yasha and the other children, anyway. The street kids were many steps back, eyeing Clara with hesitant distrust in the way children often do with harried strangers. But Yasha stood exactly where Beau left her, eyes flitting between mother and daughter. The hum of the market never ceased around them, but Beau felt distinctly detached from that buzz now.</p>
<p>“See you later,” Beau said with a wry quirk of her lips, waving shortly as her mother took firm hold of Beau’s hand. Even as Clara dragged her back through the Pentamarket toward the Tri-Spire and their hotel, Beau looked over her shoulder at Yasha until she could no longer see her new friend.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The next time Beau found herself back in Zadash with her parents, she slipped away yet again. And by chance, ran into Yasha once more. Beau had eagerly rushed to her, happy to be recognized in return, and they spent another day in the market together. This time, however, Beau was smart enough to plan for eventualities. Before they parted ways, she and Yasha agreed on a place to rendezvous anytime they were in the city. She also got Yasha’s address so they could write letters to each other. After all, Beau’s mother had been stressing the importance of keeping in contact with people as of late.</p>
<p>A few years passed this way, Beau and Yasha keeping correspondence and planning meetings in Zadash around their families’ trips. They would roam the Pentamarket and forget their troubles for a while. When they were still children, Beau and Yasha traipsed through the winding aisles of Zadash, peering into stalls with curious fervor and chasing each other through the busy streets. Every time Beau stepped onto the worn cobblestone of the Pentamarket, that undercurrent buzz rushed through her veins. She didn’t know a thing about magic, but Beau figured it was comparable to this.</p>
<p>When Beau was thirteen and Yasha just gone sixteen, they met in the Pentamarket on yet another family trip to Zadash. Beau knew that both of their families were here on business, but she and Yasha remained blissfully ignorant to the inner-workings of their inheritance.</p>
<p>On days she could escape her mother and father, Beau donned her breeches and sleeveless tunic and fled to Yasha’s company. They spent their time in the city together doing whatever pleased their whims, and Beau reveled in the simple pleasure of not having to wear a dress.</p>
<p>On a warm autumn afternoon, after spending their morning meandering, the pair sat just outside a small bakery. They had spent a great deal of time in a shop called <em>The Invulnerable Vagrant</em>. Beau’s former tutor Bren mentioned it in one of his recent letters, and Beau convinced Yasha they should check it out. Of course, they hadn’t the coin or the need for anything in the shop, but the shopkeeper seemed more than happy to have a pleasant conversation with them. Once Beau mentioned she was a friend of Bren’s, the shopkeeper – Pumat – had gone on quite the tangent about how wonderful he was.</p>
<p>With the promise to return the next time they were free and about the Pentamarket, Beau and Yasha had journeyed to the bakery. With warm drinks in hand, they sat across from each other at a small table and shared laughter over their daily adventures.</p>
<p>“Wait, wait,” Beau managed around her ceaseless giggles. “So you’re telling me that a <em>bunny</em> did all that?”</p>
<p>“I think it was a family of bunnies,” Yasha chuckled, turning her drink with idle intent in her hands. “Somehow they got into the grain stores and just...ate way too much. Dad was furious.”</p>
<p>“That’s fucking hysterical,” Beau snorted, leaning back in her chair. “My dad’s lost a lot of his crop to a mudslide before. But we don’t have a lot of forest animals that go after grapes. I’d love to see his face if a bunny did something like that.”</p>
<p>“At the time it was a bit of a problem,” Yasha said with a grin. “But now it’s just really funny.”</p>
<p>As they fell into another fit of giggles, Beau opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off.</p>
<p>“Beauregard!” Thoreau’s voice reached her, the buzz of the city freezing in her veins. Beau went rigid, jaw clenching, and watched the mirth fade to worry in Yasha’s eyes.</p>
<p>Her father sounded horrendously angry.</p>
<p>Twisting to glance over her shoulder at her father’s approach, Beau couldn’t help but flinch at the expression on his face.</p>
<p>“What have I told you about these escapades of yours? When are you going to grow up?” Thoreau snapped, coming to tower above where Beau sat.</p>
<p>“We’re just talking, dad,” Beau replied, tone clipped.</p>
<p>“With our rival’s daughter, no less,” Thoreau spat. “In public, as if you are friends.”</p>
<p>“Rival?” Beau said, incredulous. She twisted to look at Yasha again, but she seemed as confused as Beau. They barely ever spoke of their family when they were together, because they wanted to forget all that. But Beau knew the von Brandt family had adopted Yasha when she was very young. The details were sparse, but it was something about owing a debt to Yasha’s late parents. Without a biological heir, the von Brandt’s warden was now their next in line.</p>
<p>But as far as Beau knew, the von Brandt family dealt in the trade of ale, so there was hardly any reason for them to consider each other rivals.</p>
<p>“What are you talking about?” Beau spun back to her father, rapidly growing annoyed at her lack of understanding.</p>
<p>“Your <em>family</em>,” Thoreau spat the word at Yasha as if it were a curse. “Has encroached upon my territory as they delve into wine making. Whatever amicable relations we had before are void now. You can make sure your father knows that well.”</p>
<p>Thoreau then reached down to grab Beau’s arm in a bruising grip and yank her to her feet. Stumbling as she did, Beau struggled, peering over her shoulder at Yasha with wide eyes. This couldn’t be happening. The city buzz now entirely lost, the hopeless confusion on her only friend’s face, and her father’s steely grip around her arm…<em>this couldn’t be happening</em>.</p>
<p>“We will no longer associate with the von Brandt family,” Thoreau said firmly, gaze pinned on his daughter. “And I expect you to uphold that, Beauregard. I have tolerated a lot of misbehavior from you, but do <em>not</em> cross this line.”</p>
<p>He glanced pointedly at the breeches she was wearing, as if it proved a point. Thoreau dragged her away from the table, from Yasha.</p>
<p>“Dad!” Beau protested, snapping back into her body at the realization, struggling against his iron grip. “Dad, stop it! This is ridiculous!”</p>
<p>“Do not fight me on this, Beauregard,” Thoreau hissed as he ignored her attempts to get free. “We have an image and a profit to maintain, and those people have betrayed our trust and our companionship by making this choice. If I ever catch you corresponding with their daughter again, you will not like the consequences.”</p>
<p>As a distinct and familiar feeling of desperation settled in her stomach, Beau twisted to look back at Yasha. Her friend stood beside the table, fists clenched and expression pained. This was the second time one of Beau’s parents forced her to leave Yasha behind, neither of them girls able to do anything to stop it from happening. Her stomach clenched unpleasantly at the thought. Beau hoped that the reassuring smile she tried for conveyed everything she wanted to say.</p>
<p>
  <em>Don’t worry, I won’t let this come between us. We’ll find a way.</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Beau’s mother had sent her to the Pentamarket alone with a list of errands to complete. The only reason Beau accepted the task was for the slim chance she might find Yasha somewhere in the chaos. That, and so she could catch just a taste, a faint hint of that lively high, the city seemed to collectively breathe.</p>
<p>She couldn’t have been there for more than ten minutes before she spotted a familiar shock of white hair emerging from the <em>Lodge </em>down the street. Sometimes, luck was on Beau’s side.</p>
<p>They had still been sending letters to each other in the months since Thoreau declared they were to never interact. But they had been far more discrete about it all. Moreover, they hadn’t seen each other in person since then either. For Beau, it was torture – stuck with limited contact with her best friend.</p>
<p>From a distance, Beau watched Yasha pause outside the hotel, and decided – fuck it. Her father wasn’t here.</p>
<p>Abandoning her errands, Beau wove hurriedly through the crowded thoroughfare toward Yasha. As she reached between passersby, Beau caught Yasha’s wrist just before the other could walk away. Yasha pivoted, eyes wide and only growing wider when she saw who had grabbed her.</p>
<p>“Beau?” Yasha whispered, taking a step closer. “What are you doing here?”</p>
<p>“Disobeying my father, what else?” Beau grinned, breathless. “Come on, Yash. Let’s spend the day together, like we always do. Our parents never have to know.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Beau,” Yasha said slowly, eyes flicking around like someone might see them. “What if we get caught?”</p>
<p>“And what if we don’t?” Beau countered. She felt the nervous thrum of Yasha’s pulse at her wrist where Beau still clung to her. “Yasha, people of our parents’ caliber don’t go to the market themselves. The chances of running into someone who might snitch on us are next to nothing! Are we really going to let our parents and their feud come between us?”</p>
<p>Yasha caught her lower lip between her teeth, but even that didn’t stop the slow smile that grew and made her eyes crinkle. She grinned wildly up at Yasha and pulled her along into the messy livelihood of the Pentamarket, throwing themselves with familiar, childlike fervor into the curiosities that Zadash offered. They stopped to play a ball game with some local kids, laughing freely the way they had when they first met. Yasha bought them both a trost to drink and Beau turned around and bought them both warm pretzels to soak up the ale.</p>
<p>Beau dragged Yasha to a stall that was selling absolutely ridiculous looking hats, both of them trying a few on until they were in stitches. The stall owner chased them off after a minute, looking amused despite sounding annoyed. Beau helped Yasha pick out a hair ornament from another stall, the gems and beads crafted into the shape of a flower. They stopped to catch their breath outside a tavern and Beau helped Yasha pin the ornament among her braids, the scene reminiscent of their first meeting.</p>
<p>“There,” Beau declared triumphantly. “That should hold. It looks beautiful.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Yasha murmured, reaching up to brush careful fingers over the hairpin. Some of the gems caught the sun just so as she did. “I still think you should have gotten that necklace.”</p>
<p>“I’m not much one for flashy jewelry,” Beau said, waving away Yasha’s comment as she sat beside her friend. “Plus, the last thing I need is more jewelry, what with how much my mother has stashed away for me. She keeps hoping I’ll have a change of heart.”</p>
<p>“My parents keep hoping I’ll wear dresses more regularly,” Yasha sighed, plucking at the fabric of her breeches at her knee. “But they’re so…impractical for everyday life.”</p>
<p>“That’s what I keep telling my parents,” Beau heaved an exasperated sigh. “But then they keep telling me I shouldn’t be doing things that require breeches. Which is absolute bullshit, if you ask me.”</p>
<p>They sat together outside the tavern for a while longer, watching patrons pass. Beau was acutely aware of the way her shoulder brushed against Yasha’s, the warmth that radiated from her. It was comforting, a sensation that she never wanted to lose. Her veins sang with the slow thrum of Yasha’s warmth intermingling with the hyper hum of Zadash. The heady taste of combined sensations in Beau’s mouth left her feeling high, lightheaded.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Beau,” Yasha eventually spoke up.</p>
<p>“For what?” Beau turned her head just enough to look at Yasha sideways.</p>
<p>“For bringing me with you today. I admit I was...afraid of seeing you again. I didn’t want to get you in trouble. But this was fun, and I’m glad we did this. So, thank you.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau managed, surprised at the depth in Yasha’s voice. “Of course.”</p>
<p>Beau knew how much Yasha meant to her personally, but it seemed now that she had underestimated how much she meant to Yasha. The thought pulled at something not quite painful behind Beau’s ribs. She decidedly ignored it and looped her arm with Yasha’s when they started walking again. If the warmth of Yasha’s skin on her own felt a little more like home than it had earlier, if the high in her veins only grew, Beau pushed the thoughts aside for a later date.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Breezing into the vaulted entryway of her father’s house, breathless and grinning, Beau met no resistance. Her skirts were stained with mud and dirt, the hem frayed and torn in places. Cheeks blotched pink from the biting wind of her horseback ride, Beau kicked her boots to the side, scattering mud across the wooden floor. Gathering her skirts up in a bunch, Beau rushed up the stairs in her stockings, gleeful with the feel of freedom pounding in her veins.</p>
<p>As she tripped into her room, closing the door soundly with a nudge of her hip, Beau set about removing her skirts. She was stripped down to her underclothes, halfway out of her stockings, when the small stack of letters upon her desk caught her eye.</p>
<p>Hopeful that at least one might be from Yasha, Beau hastily tugged her stockings off as she tumbled toward her desk. A quick flip through the letters revealed that they were all from people she knew to be acquainted with her parents. Brow furrowing, Beau placed the unopened letters back with slow confusion and caution.</p>
<p>They were all very clearly addressed to her, not her parents.</p>
<p>Beau turned away from the desk and gathered up her clothing, setting it aside in a basket to deal with later. On her bed was a simple yet elegant evening dress, likely picked by her mother since Beau could sense the impending conversation. It was a deep blue, accented with silver embroidery and clasps on the bodice, the skirts few in layers and the sleeves a proper length.</p>
<p>Beau’s lip curled in distaste at the garment. But she hardly had another choice. If she wore breeches to dinner, the meal would be even longer than Beau already wanted. With a heavy sigh, and her back purposefully to the letters across the room, Beau dressed and headed down to the dining room.</p>
<p>Her mother sat at her father’s right, the man skimming through a leaflet of parchment as servants set the table. One maid noticed Beau’s entrance, and she pulled the chair to her father’s left out. Giving the woman a shallow nod of thanks, Beau slipped into the seat and dug her bare toes into the carpet beneath the table. She could rebel in small ways, after all.</p>
<p>“Did you have a good day, Beauregard?” Her mother asked from across the table, eyeing Beau’s windswept hair.</p>
<p>“Yes,” Beau said, picking up her fork and stabbing her cut of meat rather ruthlessly with it. Her mother’s lips twitched with obvious displeasure, but she didn’t scold Beau.</p>
<p>Setting down his papers, Beau’s father steepled his fingers and leveled a look his daughter’s way. Beau stared back for a moment before sighing and setting her fork down.</p>
<p>“Alright, what?”</p>
<p>“Beauregard,” Clara scolded quietly, but Thoreau held up a hand to his wife and didn’t take his eyes from Beau.</p>
<p>“I trust you found the letters in your room,” Thoreau said, not a question.</p>
<p>“I did,” Beau measured her voice, arms folded across her chest.</p>
<p>“They’re invitations from Zadash. I want you to look them over and take them seriously. You’re at an age now where our business partners and friends are looking to you to enter the social scene of trade. These galas and parties are to keep relations maintained and for you to survey potential suitors.”</p>
<p>Beau’s mouth abruptly tasted sour, the mention of marriage banishing her appetite. She was just gone sixteen and already her father and his friends expected her to carry this mantle.</p>
<p>“There’s no need to look as if you’ve swallowed a lemon,” her mother chided gently. “All we’re asking, Beauregard, is that you keep face with our colleagues.”</p>
<p>“Sure, mom,” Beau scoffed, pushing the food around her plate. “That’s all.”</p>
<p>“Now, Beauregard,” her father’s harsh tone began. “This is hardly a matter to throw a tantrum over.”</p>
<p>“Who’s throwing a tantrum?” Beau affected innocently. “I’m just taking in the fact that two days ago I couldn’t be trusted to help balance your books after a deal. But now you want me to woo the Stassman’s over champagne and finger sandwiches!”</p>
<p>“Beauregard!” Thoreau said, voice rising to the point that all the servants in the room froze with it. “That’s quite enough!”</p>
<p>“That we can agree on,” Beau snapped, pushing back from her seat and storming from the room. She ignored the calls from her mother and father back in the dining room as she stomped up the stairs. Slamming the bedroom door for good measure, Beau angrily got out of the blue dress and tugged on her nightclothes. Soft linen pants and a sleeveless tunic that were loose in their cut brought Beau some measure of comfort as she flopped into her desk chair. Staring down at the four letters left for her, Beau picked absently at the corners of the envelopes.</p>
<p>With a resolute tug to her desk drawer, Beau dumped the letters inside its confines and went to bed. The invitations were a problem she could deal with another day.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Four days after the letters arrived, Beau was perched in her window seat, leafing through a book as mid-afternoon sunlight dappled through the leaves of the tree outside her room. The sunny days in Kamordah were few because of the unfortunate topography, so Beau took full advantage of the warmth. She had gone walking and riding through the nearby fields earlier that morning, and now with the window thrown open beside her, took the quiet afternoon for what it was.</p>
<p>Her parents both pestered her about the letters every day. She kept her answers annoyingly vague because the truth was they hadn’t seen the light since she put them in her drawer.</p>
<p>Beau knew she would have to do something about them sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>A knock at her door drew Beau’s attention away from her book (something about a man who had traveled Wildemount and Tal’dorei in splendid adventures).</p>
<p>“Come in,” Beau called permission, perking up when she found a familiar face opening her door.</p>
<p>“Bren! What are you doing here?” Beau grinned at the elder boy as she set aside her book and pushed to her feet.</p>
<p>“Do I need a reason to visit?” He chuckled, his accent a memorable drawl that tripped through his Common and warmed Beau with nostalgia. Bren drew Beau into a quick, firm hug when she reached him. His time in the capital hadn’t changed his sweet, dorky nature like Beau had feared.</p>
<p>Bren stood just a hair taller than Beau, shoulders broad and with a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes. His red-orange hair fell in a loose ponytail over one shoulder, and the uniform from his school all but glowed with prestige. He had been Beau’s personal tutor when she was younger, traveling from his home in Blumenthal with his mother once a month. Bren had always been bright with books and was the only one who could understand Beau’s attitude. They had a strange understanding of one another, so Thoreau used that to get Beau educated with as little struggle as possible.</p>
<p>About two years ago, Bren had been scouted and selected to attend the Soltryce Academy in the capital. He sent Beau letters whenever he could since moving to the capital, keeping her up to date with his studies and making sure she was continuing her own. To see him here so suddenly was quite the surprise.</p>
<p>“Of course not,” Beau said as she swept a look at him. “But I didn’t know you were coming.”</p>
<p>“I’m on my way to visit my parents back home,” Bren confessed. “One of the higher up professors, Master Trent, retired rather suddenly a few days ago. I only took a few classes with him, but the staff has given us days off while they fill his position. So, I thought I would stop for a visit on my way home.”</p>
<p>“Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re here.”</p>
<p>A flash of understanding flickered across his face, and Bren clasped a hand to Beau’s shoulder. She didn’t make any move to confirm or deny his silent question, but Bren didn’t seem to need it.</p>
<p>“Why don’t we take a walk?”</p>
<p>Bren led her from the manor and out into the nearby vineyards, the day hot and bright, the grapevines buzzing as insects flit about the leaves. The removed location and her old friend’s undemanding company let Beau’s walls crumble. She told him everything her letters didn’t. About how she passed her days outsmarting her new tutors, pestering her father with ideas for the business he didn’t care to hear. She told him how she drove her mother mad by ruining almost every dress she put Beau in. He seemed amused by all of this, laughing along with her as they walked.</p>
<p>She told him everything about Yasha, about the letters that came almost biweekly, and her replies sent nearly as frequently. Told him about the rivalry between their families that made public interactions risky. But she also told him how those letters were a bright spot in Beau’s days, something to look forward to among the dreary trudge of her family’s expectations.</p>
<p>Their trips to Zadash were what Beau looked forward to most. Yasha’s company was like freedom.</p>
<p>“It sounds like you like Yasha quite a bit,” Bren commented when Beau had paused for breath.</p>
<p>“Of course, she’s my oldest friend,” Beau scoffed.</p>
<p>“That is not the context I meant,” Bren muttered, but breezed past the topic as if it meant nothing. Beau couldn’t keep her thoughts focused on that long enough to parse his meaning out. Her old tutor instead turned the conversation towards the happenings at the capital, entertaining her with his stories now.</p>
<p>When they finally made it back to the manor, the sun was near the horizon and the day cooling with dusk. Stood at the gate of her family’s estate, Beau hesitated to return. She gripped Bren’s hand and turned pleading eyes his way.</p>
<p>“Stay for dinner,” Beau tried not to sound too desperate. “You can leave for home in the morning.”</p>
<p>Something like regret sparked to life in Bren’s eyes as he gently cupped Beau’s hands in his own. His fingers were warm to the touch, and Beau could have sworn they buzzed faintly. She almost asked him if his magic felt the same way Zadash did for her.</p>
<p>“I sent word to my parents that I would return tonight. But I will visit on my way back to school, if I can.”</p>
<p>“How are you going to make it to Blumenthal before dark?” Beau asked, incredulous.</p>
<p>Here, Bren grinned, looking like the excited child she had once known him as. He was still excitable; it was just more amusing for her to see him this way as a nearly grown man. Pulling her into a firm hug, Bren held onto Beau for a long moment, letting her soak up as much comfort as she needed. After a moment, he pulled back and grabbed her hands once more. Giving Beau’s fingers a squeeze, he took a few steps back and turned to the masonry leading up to the gate of the manor.</p>
<p>“Oh, before I show you, I nearly forgot,” Bren’s hand dove into his pocket and produced a letter. He held it out to her with a sheepish grin. “I meant to give this to you before, but we got caught up in conversation. One of the maids had it and asked me to deliver it to you.”</p>
<p>Taking the worn envelope from her friend, Beau’s heart skipped in her chest at the familiar scrawl across the front.</p>
<p>
  <em>To Beau.</em>
</p>
<p>She pressed the letter from Yasha to her chest with breathless excitement. Beau then watched as Bren began a long process of drawing an intricate rune circle on the ground. After a few minutes of this, he paused and looked up at her, grinning.</p>
<p>“This is transportation magic, and will get me home in a flash. Maybe one day, I could take you with me somewhere.”</p>
<p>“Show off,” Beau grumbled, but her eyes must have been sparkling and excited, because Bren just laughed at her warmly and shook his head.</p>
<p>“I will see you soon, Beauregard. Good luck.” Bren drew a last line, and the circle pulsed with pale orange light. He gave her one last wave before stepping into the circle and vanishing. When the light faded, the circle was gone, and Beau stood at the gate alone.</p>
<p>After dinner that evening, Beau sat in her nightclothes at her desk, the letter from Yasha open before her. By candlelight, she read eagerly.</p>
<p>The first half of the letter was in response to Beau’s previous message. Yasha told Beau all about the happenings at her adoptive family’s estate and reassured Beau that she would go to Zadash in two weeks. She informed her of how boring the von Brandt household was without Beau there to keep her company.</p>
<p>The second half of the letter, however, was something Beau hadn’t expected. Yasha informed her she was extremely nervous about the trip to Zadash because of the party invitations she had received. The list of names she provided matched Beau’s exactly, and Yasha wrote that she didn’t know where to begin, as neither of them had done anything like this before. She asked if Beau received any similar invitations and inquired if she would attend any of the events as well.</p>
<p>Setting the letter from Yasha aside after she had finished reading it, Beau quickly opened the drawer beside her and pulled out the letters. She ripped them open one by one, scanning the contents. Though she cared little for this aspect of the family business, Beau knew quite a lot on each family involved. She liked to use that information against people, in quiet and ruthless fashion. It was extremely fun for her to watch from afar as things spiraled after her intervention.</p>
<p>Now, though, she could use this knowledge to ensure she and Yasha had most interesting evenings.</p>
<p>Grabbing paper and her quill, Beau penned a return letter for Yasha.</p>
<hr/>
<p>When Beau walked into her first gala as the heir to the Lionett estate, she was entirely underwhelmed.</p>
<p>It was beautiful, of course, but in such a gaudy way that flaunted wealth she couldn’t help but sneer at it. Ostentatious bouquets of flowers spilled over every surface and tables overflowed with foods that seemed far too posh to actually be consumed. Bubbling alcohol filled crystal glasses held in dainty hands, lending to the atmosphere. A quick sweep of the selection told Beau it was all far too expensive and hardly even the best selection.</p>
<p>A social event, catering to boot-licking rather than actual taste.</p>
<p>With a gusty sigh, Beau was at least grateful that she had ditched the dress her mother tried to palm off on her. Bren had come through for her and sent her the attractive grey suit she commissioned from the capital. It had been far too easy for Beau to sneak it into her luggage for this trip. The dress her mother thought Beau was wearing currently sat stuffed at the bottom of a chest in Beau’s room at the Pillow Trove.</p>
<p>Beau swiped up a glass of sparkling white wine from a server’s tray and tucked herself away near a pillar to survey the ballroom. Yasha would be here soon, so until then, Beau had to occupy herself with whatever everyone else was up to.</p>
<p>They had exchanged a few letters in the two weeks leading up to their trip to Zadash, debating which parties would be best to attend. Some nights overlapped, so they were not expected to accept every invitation. Beau knew her father would have loved to pick which galas his daughter should attend himself, but he seemed at least satisfied that Beau put interest into picking any at all. Thoreau probably thought that Beau was finally taking him and the business seriously.</p>
<p>She laughed into her wineglass at the notion.</p>
<p>“You seem happy,” a familiar voice spoke from over Beau’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Twisting to find Yasha behind her, Beau beamed at her oldest friend, smile bright and genuine. Yasha looked stunning in the fitted, floor-length black dress she wore, all but glowing in the party lighting. Beau blamed the sparkling wine for the bubbly feeling that overtook her. Stood beside Yasha, however, was a new face – one Beau instantly distrusted.</p>
<p>“This is Mollymauk,” Yasha said, seeming to read the flicker of confusion in Beau’s eye. “I met him last time we were in Zadash after you left.”</p>
<p>“Charmed,” Mollymauk said through a Cheshire grin, extending a tattooed hand her way. “Call me Molly.”</p>
<p>Beau grasped Mollymauk’s hand hesitantly, flicking a look to Yasha. She supposed that if Yasha trusted this stranger, he must be alright. Beau was surprised that a bright purple Tiefling, tattooed and in loud clothing, lived so plainly and unbothered in the middle of Zadash. From what she heard and read, Tieflings had quite the prejudice against them in the Empire. His starch white silk shirt and bright red embroidered coat that swept the floor did him no favors for blending in.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Mollymauk crooned, his solid red eyes narrowing at her with interest. “You’re the curious type, aren’t you?”</p>
<p>Beau felt her cheeks flush, and she yanked her hand back. “Fuck off.”</p>
<p>“You can really pick ‘em, Yasha,” Mollymauk cackled.</p>
<p>Yasha’s cheeks went pink as she nudged Mollymauk’s shoulder, muttering something to him under her breath. Whatever she said left Mollymauk grinning cheekily.</p>
<p>“Well,” Mollymauk said, clapping his hands together. “Shall I fetch us some drinks?”</p>
<p>Beau, her glass empty, shrugged as Yasha nodded and shooed the Tiefling off, her cheeks still flushed. With a sarcastic wave and a promise to return soon, Mollymauk was off. The baubles pierced into his horns clinked gently as he did.</p>
<p>“Yasha,” Beau groaned.</p>
<p>“He’s nice, I promise,” Yasha whispered. “He’s just...like that.”</p>
<p>“I noticed,” Beau grumbled, setting her empty wineglass on a passing server’s tray. “But I trust your judgment.”</p>
<p>Mollymauk returned with drinks for them all, and they threw them back rapidly, as party goers were wont to do. Beau knew there was no way she could get through this pompous event without copious amounts of alcohol and Yasha at her side. However, they had an image to maintain for their families so they could keep attending these parties. Mollymauk and Yasha traipsed off to a nearby cluster of individuals to make small talk while Beau headed another way.</p>
<p>“Truly, Lord Baumbach,” Beau sighed as she took a delicate sip of her wine. “The depths of the von Brandt’s betrayal have shaken my father’s faith. It’s hard to believe that they would do this after the years of friendship. It’s rather unfortunate their daughter is here as well. I was so looking forward to enjoying myself, but now I have to skirt her presence for fear of causing a scene.”</p>
<p>Beau sighed gustily and rubbed at her temples in faux distress, casting a dirty look at Yasha’s back for good measure. Thoreau had drilled Beau on numerous occasions regarding which families had taken their side in this whole ridiculous affair. She knew who to pander to in order to make it seem like she gave a shit. Beau also knew that Yasha was not one for starting or maintaining conversation with strangers, especially convincing false conversation. Instead, she let others around her bring the topic up and nodded along with them, letting them fill in the blanks.</p>
<p>As they reached the portion of the evening where everyone else seemed properly drunk, Beau ducked from the main ballroom to meet Yasha and Mollymauk out in the rear garden. In the privacy of the trellises, they fell into each other with laughter. Mollymauk had swiped two bottles of the better wines in attendance, and they had each brought their own glass from inside. When she was three drinks in, Beau let Yasha drag her to her feet and clumsily lead her through a waltz. As they stumbled through the assorted flowerbeds, Yasha grinning broad and brilliant, Beau let her lead as she stared in awe.</p>
<p>Yasha was radiant in the moonlight, the flowers woven into her white braids looked more alive as she spun Beau in circles. The moon caught against the gems of Yasha’s hairpiece and her skin near radiant in the dim. Beau could feel her heartbeat in her fingertips. She figured it was probably the alcohol, but she could have sworn she tasted Yasha’s joy on her tongue from proximity alone.</p>
<p>When Yasha was satisfied with their dancing, they collapsed into each other on a nearby bench, breathless and giggling. By the time they were five drinks deep, Beau let down her defenses enough to get to know Mollymauk.</p>
<p>As it turned out, he was the co-owner of a small tavern on the outskirts of the Pentamarket. He directed the performances the establishment put on for entertainment and did tarot readings on the side. Readings which Beau promptly told him were bullshit to the melodic giggling of Yasha’s agreement.</p>
<p>“You wound me, both of you,” Mollymauk sighed dramatically, swirling his drink around in his glass airily. “Neither of you have even gotten a reading from me.”</p>
<p>“It’s still bullshit,” Beau chuckled, emptying her glass with a quick toss of her head. The carbonation burned up into her nostrils as it slid down her throat. She grit her teeth against it and scrunched her nose.</p>
<p>“Well,” Mollymauk said as he stood with far too much elegance for someone who had consumed as much alcohol as he had. “Me and my bullshit tarot have to be heading off. Some of us actually have to work for a living.”</p>
<p>Beau flipped him off as he gallantly waved goodbye to her and Yasha, a cheeky, wicked grin on his face.</p>
<p>“He’s very nice,” Yasha said, repeating herself from earlier, after he left. “It just takes some time for him to trust people.”</p>
<p>“He’s not that annoying, I guess,” Beau admitted, pouring the both of them another glass of wine.</p>
<p>“I expected this would be a lot more unbearable,” Yasha confessed after they were both halfway through their glasses. “But having you and Molly here made it kind of fun.”</p>
<p>“I was thinking the same thing,” Beau said with a lazy grin against the rim of her glass. “I thought I was going to be trying to gouge out my eyes with the dessert spoons from boredom. Plus, pretending to hate you was vastly amusing. You should have seen Lord Baumbach’s face when I was putting on the dramatics.”</p>
<p>Beau mocked his expression, being as over-dramatic as possible to make Yasha laugh. Sure enough, Yasha tossed her head back with a loud laugh, the one that Beau was convinced only she got to see. As they settled more comfortably into the bench they had found hidden among the hedges, still laughing, Beau felt her breath catch in her chest when she looked at Yasha. Moonlight shone down on them from above, the sky cloudless and glittering with stars. The silver beams seemed to favor Yasha, highlighting her skin as a stark, gorgeous contrast to the rich darkness of her dress. The hair ornament Beau had helped her choose years ago still glittered in Yasha’s hair as she moved.</p>
<p>Yasha’s shoulder pressed against Beau’s as they fell in together. She was just as warm as Beau remembered from those years ago in the Pentamarket. Yasha still felt like home, a pleasant hum lingering in Beau’s veins.</p>
<p>That pull between her ribs, right beneath her heart, tugged to life again. Beau’s mouth went dry with the realization that she might be in love. She drained the last half of her glass, trying to ignore it.</p>
<hr/>
<p>As time marched on, Beau continued to attend parties in Zadash under her family’s name, and Yasha under her family’s. They made a game of sorts out of their public interactions. It became a source of entertainment for the pair, acting like they gave a shit about the well-known rivalry between their parents. They would glare at each other from across the room and make shallow remarks on each other's outfits, Mollymauk often goading them on. Once the party goers were too drunk to remember half the night, Beau and Yasha would sneak away to unoccupied portions of the party and laugh themselves silly. Sometimes Mollymauk would join them, somehow worming his way into Beau’s heart with his stupid charm.</p>
<p>The letters continued, all but a lifeline for Beau throughout the dreary days in Kamordah. Yasha never put her own name on the envelopes, merely addressed them to Beau and sent them on their way. Beau knew the familiar scrawl of Yasha’s hand by heart and always caught the mail at the door before either of her parents laid eyes on it.</p>
<p>As they grew and aged, that night of their first party together lingered in Beau’s memories. The feeling that had fluttered to life behind her ribs aged with her. Most days, any thought of Yasha sent the pattern of her heart into a flurry. Beau wasn’t so naïve that she was unaware of her blooming affection for Yasha, but she knew well enough to keep it under wraps. No matter how difficult that task became as time went on.</p>
<p>Aside from her correspondence with Yasha, Beau occupied her time siphoning and smuggling her father’s wine. She endured one too many rejections from him regarding how he might do better business – so she took matters into her own hands. It was working rather well for her so far; she just had to make sure she wasn’t caught.</p>
<p>It was far from what one might call a happy existence, but Beau made do with what she had at her disposal. She was running on luck and hoped to keep the charade going for a little longer.</p>
<p>Less than a week after her twenty-second birthday, however, her luck ran dry.</p>
<p>“Beauregard!” Thoreau’s voice echoed through the halls of the manor. “Come downstairs, now!”</p>
<p>There was an edge to his tone that Beau had learned to be wary of, so she sighed and put her things away. The letter she had been finishing was folded and tucked safely into the pocket of her dress. She stood and made her way downstairs, steps slow in an effort to delay the inevitable conversation looming.</p>
<p>The parlor was warmed by a large fire crackling in the hearth, but it did nothing to banish the heavy atmosphere. Her father’s expression was stony where he stood behind his tall-backed chair, hands planted on the crown. Her mother sat in her more modest chair, hands folded on her lap and back ramrod straight, the picture of dignity and grace. Beau could see her mother’s white knuckles, though, and was not fooled.</p>
<p>Sitting slowly on the edge of the chaise lounge, the rustle of her skirt too loud in the terse silence, Beau eyed her father across the coffee table. The tip of his nose was discolored, the corners of his eyes pinched, fingers tight against the top of his chair – all signs he was not in a good mood.</p>
<p>“Did you think you would get away with this stunt forever?” Thoreau’s voice was even, cold, and removed. “Did you think word wouldn’t get back to me, Beauregard?”</p>
<p>Her stomach twisted unpleasantly, and Beau fought to maintain a mask of innocence. He knew. She wasn’t sure if he knew about Yasha, about the parties, about the letters, or the wine – but either way, this was bad.</p>
<p>“What are you talking about?”</p>
<p>“Don’t play games with me, Beauregard!” Thoreau snapped, coming round his chair with menacing strides. “You’ve been stealing product from me and making profit off it behind my back! I know you think you’re smart, but you aren’t. You’re clumsy and reckless. You’re lucky you haven’t gotten hurt, Beauregard! I don’t understand how you could be so selfish!”</p>
<p>Beau felt her jaw creak with the amount of force she clenched her teeth. She had expected her father would be upset if he ever found out what she was doing, but that didn’t mean his words hurt any less. These were all things she had heard before over the years for her petty rebellion. But at this age, trying desperately to make her own way, leave her own mark on the world, it stung more than usual.</p>
<p>“I had planned to send you to a monastery in the hopes they could whip you into shape. However, your mother has presented an alternative I think would be far better suited for grounding you in reality.”</p>
<p>“What are you talking about?” Beau repeated, her teeth grinding as she spoke.</p>
<p>“After the stunt you pulled with the Stassman’s a few years ago, we’ve been on even worse footing with them than ever,” Clara butted in, her tone firm. “But, graciously, and after much discussion, they’ve agreed that an alliance of union might benefit both our companies. Their son is only two years older than you, and endearingly polite and well-mannered.”</p>
<p>Beau stared at her mother, trying to piece together how the Stassman’s son had anything to do with her, before it clicked.</p>
<p>“You want me to marry him.” Beau’s mouth went dry, her ears ringing faintly with disbelief. Her parents said nothing, but their expressions made it clear she had guessed correctly. “I’ve never even <em>met</em> him!”</p>
<p>“Nonsense, you met him before,” Clara began, but Beau wasn’t having it.</p>
<p>“I was six years old, mother! He’s not the same person and neither am I! Can’t you just punish me like normal people instead of marrying me off because you don’t want to deal with me?”</p>
<p>“Beauregard!” Clara cried, expression crumpling with horror.</p>
<p>“How <em>dare</em> you speak to us that way!” Thoreau bellowed, taking a step closer to where Beau had lunged to her feet. “We have done nothing but provide the best for you, Beauregard. It is hardly our fault you decide to throw it all back in our faces and have a tantrum every time something doesn’t go your way!”</p>
<p>“It is so much more than that, and you know it!” Beau yelled back. “Don’t you dare try to make this all my fault!”</p>
<p>“The decision has been made, Beauregard,” Thoreau said venomously, glaring at his daughter over the coffee table between them. The short distance seemed like miles pulled taut over their furious tension. “Whether or not you like it, you will meet the Stassman’s son the week after our next trip to Zadash. I implore you to be on your best behavior, otherwise we will be forced to execute <em>my</em> solution instead.”</p>
<p>Beau went to retort, but found herself unable to speak. Rage and betrayal and incomprehensible hurt clogged her throat, eyes burning as she fought not to cry in front of her parents. With a mighty huff of exasperation, Beau turned and stormed back to her room. As she climbed the stairs, the letter she had written for Yasha, an attempt at baring her heart and affection for the woman, burned like a leaden weight in her pocket.</p>
<hr/>
<p>Perhaps it was not her parents’ wisest idea to let Beau go to Zadash after the explosive conversation they had. But above everything – even their daughter’s well-being – they prided themselves on maintaining face in the social scene. So Beau went to Zadash with her father and mother as planned. She was scheduled to attend a party halfway through their stay under the Lionett name while her father did business and her mother made house calls to old acquaintances.</p>
<p>Beau had written to Bren, begging him to spare a day for her and come visit in Zadash. She needed him now more than ever.</p>
<p>Yasha was to arrive the night before the party, and the last letter Beau had sent Yasha was before the disastrous conversation with her parents. It was strange walking into all of this, knowing Yasha didn’t have all the details.</p>
<p>Bren arrived the day before Yasha, looking worried and confused as he swept into her hotel room, but bearing what Beau had asked for. He pulled Beau into a fierce hug the moment they met and let her cry against his shoulder. When they finally parted, he asked her quietly for details.</p>
<p>Beau told him everything, her throat burning with a lump of emotion the entire time. He hugged her again when she was finished, firmer than before.</p>
<p>“So, is all of this why you asked me for this potion?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Beau confessed as she rolled the bottle between her hands. It was warm to the touch, the thin red liquid sloshing easily within the confines. “It’ll work, right?”</p>
<p>“My colleague and his wife are the best alchemists I know,” Bren reassured her. “Yeza and Veth have been working with the Assembly and the Academy for years. If they say it will work, it will work.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, Bren,” Beau breathed, eyes wet with tears she was tired of shedding. “I owe you everything.”</p>
<p>“You owe me nothing,” Bren replied with a firm shake of his head. “You are my dearest friend, Beauregard. I would, and I will, do anything for you. Just promise to keep in touch, <em>ja</em>?”</p>
<p>“Always,” Beau swore immediately. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”</p>
<p>“I would think not,” Bren chuckled. “I expect you to bring Yasha around to the capital sometime so I can actually meet her.”</p>
<p>“You’ll be a big shot by then,” Beau scoffed as she wiped at her eyes. “Will you even have time to spare for little old me?”</p>
<p>Bren laughed along with her, but drew her in for yet another hug. His hugs were warm, solid, and reassuring. Beau had never known her parents to hug her like this, let alone hug her at all. She soaked up every ounce of comfort she could get from Bren.</p>
<p>When he leaned back to cup her face in his hands, planting a quick kiss to the center of her forehead, Beau knew this was goodbye. Not forever, but for a while. If everything went according to her plan, they would be farther apart than they had ever been before in their lives. She would miss him more than anything. Beau had never been to Blumenthal, but her childhood was filled with memories of what it smelled like because it had always clung to Bren’s clothing. There were so many pieces of her scattered joy that connected back to him. To leave him behind would be one of the hardest things Beau ever had to do.</p>
<p>“Good luck, Beauregard,” Bren murmured. “I will see you on the other side.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>Beau corralled Yasha and Mollymauk hours before the party. She hustled them off to the Pentamarket, relying on the bustle of everyday life to provide them the cover they needed. If anyone overheard this plan of Beau’s, everything fell apart. She must have looked as frantic as she felt, because both her friends were eyeing Beau with obvious concern. Even the familiar buzz of the city underfoot failed to soothe her frazzled nerves.</p>
<p>“I’m going to die to tonight,” Beauregard said in hushed tones to her friends as they sat in the corner of a tavern. Not the greatest conversation starter, but to the point.</p>
<p>Mollymauk raised his brows in surprise, and Yasha immediately grabbed Beau’s hand, looking sick.</p>
<p>“Not, like, <em>actually</em>,” Beau rushed to amend. “But I just...I have this potion and—”</p>
<p>“Beau, darling,” Mollymauk interrupted. “Start from the beginning, why don’t you?”</p>
<p>He flicked a pointed look at Yasha’s haggard expression and Beau nodded, swallowing hard.</p>
<p>She explained the underground business she had been running with her father’s wine, the explosive conversation that had happened recently, the marriage her parents had planned without her. Beau told them about how tired she was of living like a lie and a disappointment, how she longed for freedom. She told them about her plans to run away to the Menagerie Coast, away from the clutches of her parents and the Empire – toward freedom.</p>
<p>“As impressed and proud as I am that you’ve orchestrated an underground smuggling chain,” Mollymauk said, leaned in close over the table. “How does all of this relate to you dying tonight?”</p>
<p>Beau unearthed the potion from Bren from her pocket, showing it to them briefly before tucking it away again.</p>
<p>“It will make it seem like I’ve died,” Beau explained. “The effects last for a day. My parents won’t travel with my body, I know that. If anything, they might try to find a cleric willing to attempt bringing me back if they’re desperate enough to see this marriage through. There’s a small catacomb just outside the city where people can either bury or hold their deceased until they’re ready to return home for a formal burial. I’ll likely be there when the potion wears off.”</p>
<p>“That’s a lot of ‘ifs’, Beau,” Mollymauk warned, his solid red eyes concerned. “This seems very risky.”</p>
<p>“It is,” Beau agreed, twisting her fingers together on the table. “But I’m willing to try. Especially if it means freedom, if it means I get to live my life the way I want to live it.”</p>
<p>“Alright,” Mollymauk said after a pregnant pause. “So in true dramatic fashion, you’re going to collapse at the party tonight?”</p>
<p>“My parents can’t claim I’ve run off and ruined their legacy if I have a ballroom full of witnesses to my demise.”</p>
<p>Mollymauk tapped his nose, looking begrudgingly impressed.</p>
<p>“I’m assuming you want Yasha and I to be at the catacombs to help you out of the city after, yes?”</p>
<p>“Only if you want to,” Beau breathed, offering them the chance to be as uninvolved as possible.</p>
<p>“How dare you assume I wouldn’t want to be involved in something as dramatic as this,” Mollymauk simpered. “Especially since I could drop hints and started a rumor about a certain family, one I happen to be well-acquainted with, who manages a graveyard. A family that, say, might provide enough time to get into contact with to let you slip away under cover of night.”</p>
<p>“You’re an asshole and a genius, Mollymauk,” Beau grinned, reaching over to punch his shoulder.</p>
<p>“Thank you, darling,” Mollymauk chuckled. His eyes subtly flicked to Yasha before he stretched and sighed overtly. “Well, I’m off to prepare for a dramatic night of festivities. I’ll see you two at the gala, then?”</p>
<p>With that, Mollymauk swept from the bar, and Yasha and Beau were left alone. Beau’s thoughts were slightly off-kilter, swirling with the ‘probably’ and ‘maybe’ to every thread of her plan. Her head was a messy jumble of attempting to find any detail she might have not considered.</p>
<p>“Yasha?” Beau asked after a heavy moment of quiet, forcefully pulling her mind back to the moment. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>Yasha drew in a shaky breath, held it, then pushed it out in one, great puff.</p>
<p>“I understand why you’re doing this, why you have to do this,” Yasha whispered, reaching out to grab Beau’s hand again. “But...what if something goes wrong? Beau, what if you don’t wake up? Is this really the only way?”</p>
<p>“No,” Beau shook her head, turning her hand so they could braid their fingers together. Her veins were buzzing like they might catch fire between the hum of the city and the warmth of Yasha’s skin. She fought to stay sane and steady. “There are definitely other ways. But this is the one that guarantees I won’t have my parents after me for the rest of my life. I know it’s...a lot. And I know it’s risky. But I think I’m desperate enough to try.”</p>
<p>“What about...?” Yasha trailed off, biting her lip and looking away. Beau squeezed her hand and thought, <em>fuck it</em>.</p>
<p>“I know it’s scary, Yasha,” Beau whispered. “And I know this is probably the worst timing ever, but...” Beau pulled the letter from her pocket and held it out to Yasha. Her fingers were trembling.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to read it now,” Beau was quick to say, acutely aware of the moment her cheeks flushed pink. “Or ever, actually. I wrote that before everything went to shit, and now it’s just a letter full of things I want you to know after tonight.”</p>
<p>Yasha stared at the letter for a long moment before she looked up at Beau again. Beau fidgeted under her stare before gusting out a great sigh and moving to get up.</p>
<p>“Well, I’ve got a few things I need to get in order before tonight. I’ll see you at the party, okay?” She waited for Yasha to nod, but she looked so worried and pained that Beau paused. Putting her hands firmly on the table, Beau leaned in close until Yasha looked her in the eye. The magnetic shock when Yasha’s mismatched irises locked on Beau nearly took Beau’s knees out from under her. The buzz in her veins sparked and caught fire. She swallowed against the smoke that dried out her throat and kept her voice as steady as possible.</p>
<p>“Yasha, remember. No matter what happens, or what it looks like, I’m going to be okay.”</p>
<p>Asymmetric eyes bore into Beau for a suspended moment, somehow both weightless and grounding all at once.</p>
<p>“I believe you, Beau,” Yasha whispered. For all that she still looked terrified, Beau trusted her.</p>
<hr/>
<p>The party was just like every other gala Beau had attended over the years. It was entirely too pompous, populated with Wildemount’s snootiest, and perhaps one of the most tedious events Beau could possibly imagine wasting time at. She was so nervous about everything planned that she barely had the leftover presence of mind to keep up her act with Yasha. They exchanged only a handful of false distaste, and Beau could only hope it added to the idea that she wasn’t well before she collapsed.</p>
<p>At some point in the evening, when she surfaced from her worrying for a moment, Beau really took Yasha in from across the room. She wore a deep, midnight blue dress, fitted and long and accented with silver. As always, Yasha looked stunning.</p>
<p>She also had the flower hairpin among her braids. For some reason, that fact left Beau choked up.</p>
<p>Mollymauk – bless his dumb heart – stuck near Beau most of the night, keeping idle conversation. It served as a temporary distraction, but Beau was too on edge to do more beyond nod every now and again.</p>
<p>The night was about half over when Beau decided she had drawn this out long enough.</p>
<p>She exchanged a look with Mollymauk, and something far more serious than she was ever used to seeing crossed his expression. He gave her a nod, a quick squeeze to her elbow, and then she excused herself to the bathroom.</p>
<p>A horrible, ornate mirror hung above the sink, and Beau stared at her reflection for a long moment. Her mother had powdered Beau’s face before she left. Some of it hadn’t entirely blended in and now clung to the tip of Beau’s nose. Her hair was styled neatly, a tight braided bun sitting high on her head. She hadn’t put up a fight when her mother helped her into a pale blue dress with a lace-up back. In any context, Beau was beautiful – the perfect picture of a young heiress poised in a social scene. There was a pinch around Beau’s eyes, however, that betrayed her stress. She hoped it made her look like she was sick or in pain to further sell her act.</p>
<p>With a brief hesitation, pushing down all of her inhibitions so she didn’t back out, Beau produced the bottle from her dress pocket. With a sound pop, she uncorked the bottle. Beau toasted her reflection and muttered under her breath, “to freedom.”</p>
<p>She downed the contents in two quick gulps.</p>
<p>With quick motions, Beau washed out the residue in the bottle under the faucet and hid the bottle beneath the vanity. She didn’t want any evidence on her person later.</p>
<p>Emerging from the bathroom, Beau made her way back toward the ballroom. She had just walked up to Mollymauk when her throat started feeling dry. Coughing into her elbow, trying to clear her throat, Beau waved away the concerned looks she got from the couple Mollymauk was speaking to. Her reassurance came out hoarse and did nothing to persuade anyone.</p>
<p>After a minute of barely tracking conversation, Beau registered the discomfort in her chest. Her heart felt too big for her ribs and her lungs too small. She struggled to draw in enough air. There were spots dancing in front of her eyes, and coughing did nothing to help. Even Mollymauk looked genuinely concerned as one of the surrounding party goers flagged down a server for water. Instinctually, Beau started to seek out Yasha, eyes flitting with wild panic.</p>
<p>Mollymauk wrapped a careful hand around her elbow right before the potion truly kicked in.</p>
<p>Her stomach and throat seized as one, and Beau couldn’t hold back the strangled gasp that fled from her. The edges of her vision quickly faded to grey, her heart pounding in her ears with a rapid ringing. Beau was frightened for a horrible, conscious second that she might actually be dying. But she trusted Bren. Through the haze in her head, Beau tried to reassure herself she would be okay. The thought didn’t do much to comfort her when it felt like her lungs were disconnected from her throat.</p>
<p>Mollymauk’s face loomed above her in tunnel vision, his expression pinched with worry and panic as he called Beau’s name. She couldn’t hear him over the pounding in her ears, but she watched his lips shape the word.</p>
<p>Beau fumbled for his hand, fell short, and rapidly succumbed to darkness.</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>Yasha.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When we met as children in the Pentamarket, I never could have imagined what our friendship would become. You’ve been a constant companion, a loyal pen pal, and my most trusted friend.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lately, you make me nervous. My heart starts racing when you look at me, when you smile at me, when you laugh, when you reach for me. Everything about you brings me joy and makes me feel like I’m flying.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Truthfully, I think I realized I had feelings for you when we went to that first party in Zadash together. You were wearing this beautiful black dress and you had flowers in your braids, and that hairpin we picked out. We pretended to hate each other, and then slipped away to laugh our asses off about it. I remember the way you looked in the moonlight, and I think that’s when I figured it out.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I know my father said we should never interact with your family again, but you know how much I like to piss him off. Someday soon, if this letter of mine doesn’t scare you off, would you like to go on a proper, public date with me?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you would rather just continue our friendship, you can toss this letter and forget you ever read it. But these secrets were building up in my heart, and getting too heavy to carry on my own. If I ever find the courage to give you this letter, I hope you’ve read this far. Maybe it means I have a chance.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Always yours,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Beau</em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>The first thing that registered was a distant murmur of voices from nearby. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, her brain feeling as if someone had stuffed it with cotton, but she heard them. Her mouth was unbelievably dry, her tongue like weighted sand paper for how much effort it took to move it.</p>
<p>She must have made some noise or movement, because suddenly a pair of hands pressed against her cheeks.</p>
<p>Her ears rung faintly, scarcely able to hear past it, as the murmurs turned into muffled tones. She needed to tell them she couldn’t fucking understand them.</p>
<p>Beau thought she grunted, or she tried to. It registered finally that she needed to open her eyes.</p>
<p>Blinking against the dry, grittiness that all but glued her eyelids shut, everything appeared blurry and dark at first. She kept blinking, trying to clear her vision and wondering just how long she had slept. The hands on her cheeks were warm, familiar, and gentle. Beau grasped for a memory, a reason she felt like this.</p>
<p>It all clicked back into place moments later. Terror seized her chest, and she fumbled for the hand at her cheek. There was a horrifying moment she worried it belonged to one of her parents – that her plan failed.</p>
<p>“Beau,” a quiet voice, warbled with emotion. “I’m here, you’re okay.”</p>
<p>Her vision finally shifted into focus, the ringing in her ears subsided enough that she made out some words. Every movement registered as sluggish and disconnected, but she was awake. Beau knew she was alive, and Yasha leaned over her – real and whole. Her beautiful, mismatched eyes shone wet with tears but sparkled brightly with relief.</p>
<p>Beau burst into sobs.</p>
<p>Yasha levered Beau upright and gathered her to her chest. Beau all but melted into Yasha’s embrace, desperate for any sort of validation that she was alive, that she almost had her freedom.</p>
<p>When they both regained some composure, Yasha filled Beau in on the past twenty-four hours. Over Yasha’s shoulder, Beau saw Mollymauk keeping careful watch at the mouth of the catacombs. The stone chambers were freezing, Beau dressed only in a white funeral gown. Yasha turned her back for Beau to change into the breeches and cotton shirt they brought for her as she spoke.</p>
<p>“You were right about your parents,” Yasha murmured as Beau tugged the shirt over her head. Someone had removed Beau’s braided up-do from the party, because her hair now fell in brushed out waves over her shoulders. “They’re trying to get in contact with the family Molly knows. They’re trying to bring you back.”</p>
<p>Yasha didn’t tell her what her family’s reason was, she wasn’t even certain Yasha knew. But Beau guessed it probably had something to do with her impending marriage to the Stassman boy. Beau resolutely stopped thinking about it.</p>
<p>“Did anyone say it was poison?” Beau asked as she wound her hair up into a loose bun.</p>
<p>“No,” Yasha shook her head. Beau caught sight of the flower hairpin still tucked among her braids. Her heart pulled weakly in her chest. “Most don’t know what to think. From the outside, it looked like you choked on air.”</p>
<p>There was a tremor to Yasha’s voice that Beau decided she hated. She finished tugging on her boots and moved to place a hand on Yasha’s arm. The taller woman turned to face Beau, her expression pained.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Beau whispered. “I’m sorry I put you through it.”</p>
<p>Yasha reached out and brushed the backs of her fingers down Beau’s cheek, slow and reverent.</p>
<p>“You looked right at me before you collapsed…and then you just went <em>limp</em> in Molly’s arms.” Yasha pushed out a shaky sigh, flipping her hand around to cup Beau’s cold cheek in her warm palm. “I’m just glad you’re alive. I knew you weren’t really dead, but you looked it.”</p>
<p>Yasha paused as she caught her lower lip between her teeth. “I read your letter.”</p>
<p>Beau’s heart skipped a beat. <em>Oh gods</em>.</p>
<p>“I’d love to go on a date with you, Beau,” Yasha whispered, her other hand coming up to cup Beau’s other cheek. “I would love that more than anything.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Beau’s voice came out strangled.</p>
<p>“Really,” Yasha promised, her eyes drinking in every inch of Beau’s face. “May I kiss you?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Beau pressed from her lungs. If she didn’t know any better, she might think she was about to black out again.</p>
<p>Yasha stooped to press their lips together, Beau wrapping her fingers in a clinging embrace around Yasha’s wrists. It did little to ground her, but Beau felt she might float away if she let go. She thought the hum under her skin from mere proximity to Yasha had been unbearable, but actually kissing her left Beau feeling like she was dissolving. Every new, desperate press of Yasha’s lips against Beau’s only stoked the flame building behind Beau’s ribs, only magnified the buzz. One of Yasha’s hands slid to cup the base of Beau’s neck, tugging her closer as Beau released Yasha’s wrist to wind an arm around her waist instead. Beau leaned her weight into Yasha and trusted her to not let Beau fall.</p>
<p>This was a kiss years in the making, a confession built in the secret cavity beneath their hearts. This was a forbidden embrace, a love story banned by families too petty and proud to have a conversation. Yet they persisted and persevered against all odds.</p>
<p>This sensation was like stepping into the hum of Zadash for the first time again, then dialed up until it consumed her senses.</p>
<p>Yasha moved her other hand to wrap around Beau’s waist to all but pick her up. Beau wrapped both arms around Yasha’s neck and pressed up to her toes. She felt like she would never need to breathe air again with the way Yasha’s attention to her lips made her feel alive.</p>
<p>Distantly, Beau heard Mollymauk say something about needing to leave. She ignored him, and Yasha did, too. Yasha’s arms only tightened around Beau’s waist, and Beau couldn’t help the way she smiled into Yasha’s kiss. She didn’t feel like she was on fire anymore – Beau felt like she <em>was</em> fire.</p>
<p>Mollymauk’s hand was on Beau’s arm, insistent. But Beau wasn’t finished with Yasha yet. This was probably the last Beau would see of Yasha for who knew how long. She was going to get every second possible out of this kiss if it killed her. She was going to memorize every last dip and divot of Yasha’s frequency even if it drove her mad. Beau wanted to take the imprint of the city and this woman with her when she left.</p>
<p>Her chest was flush against Yasha’s by the time they broke apart, gasping for air. Beau’s toes were still barely on the ground for all that Yasha was clinging to her. Molly stood a few paces away, a bag on each shoulder and looking fond but impatient.</p>
<p>“If you’re quite done,” he drawled. “We shouldn’t linger much longer.”</p>
<p>“Fuck off, Molly,” Beau groused. But Yasha released her with gentle motions, pressing a lingering kiss to Beau’s forehead. Beau hugged Mollymauk fiercely for all they both acted annoyed and whispered her thanks to him against his shoulder. He didn’t reply, but Beau knew he heard her by the way his arms tightened around her waist.</p>
<p>They fled the catacombs in the darkness, breathless and giddy with their success. The catacombs were on the outskirts of the west end of the Innerstead Sprawl, the grassy slopes surrounding it giving way to winding cobblestone. Mollymauk lead them as they went, keeping to shadows with their heads down and eyes roaming for signs of others who might see them. The hour was late, however, and this part of the city was quiet. Despite the sleepy crawl, Beau could still sense Zadash’s energy buzzing underfoot.</p>
<p>As they came upon the Outersteads, Yasha split off down a wide alley and unhitched two horses from a post. Mollymauk reached into one pack and produced a dark cloak. He stepped up to Beau and tossed it over her shoulders, fastening the clasp when he noticed her trembling hands. As he reached to pull the hood over Beau’s head, Yasha grabbed the second pack from Mollymauk. Beau’s confusion must have been obvious because Mollymauk chuckled at her fondly.</p>
<p>“Yasha, are...” Beau looked between Mollymauk and Yasha. “Are you coming with me? What about your family?”</p>
<p>Yasha pressed her fingers to Beau’s cheek beneath her hood. “I’m coming with you. After the party…I gave it some thought, but I realized I already knew what I wanted. I want to go with you. The world is out there and I want to see it, too. I can’t think of anyone better to do it with.”</p>
<p>“Yasha...” Beau’s voice came out wobbly, but she didn’t care.</p>
<p>“You two are so cute it’s going to make me sick,” Mollymauk sighed. But he pulled Yasha down to press a kiss to her forehead, then turned and did the same to Beau. “Take care of each other, send me lots of letters.”</p>
<p>“As annoying as you are,” Beau grumbled through the tears on her cheeks. “I’m going to miss you, Molly. I’ll write as often as I can.”</p>
<p>Yasha placed steadying hands on Beau’s waist, helping her swing up into the saddle of one horse. She handed Beau the reins before turning to give Mollymauk a firm squeeze of a hug. He held Yasha’s horse steady as she mounted, turning to Beau as he passed off the reins.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t have any trouble getting out of the city. There’s guards posted at the main gate on the south wall, but they’re more concerned with people entering than leaving. Once you’re past the gate, urge the horses to run. You should have enough distance between this city and you by dawn. Keep your hood up and you’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>Beau and Yasha nodded, thanking Mollymauk quietly as they pushed their horses into a slow walk. He went alongside them for a while, still keeping an eye out.</p>
<p>“You said you were thinking about heading to the Menagerie Coast?” Mollymauk asked, to which Beau nodded. “I’ve got friends there, so I sent a letter ahead of you letting them know you might come find them. Jester and Fjord – both of them are good people. Look for a place called the <em>Lavish Chateau</em> in Nicodranas, you can find Jester there. They’ll help you get settled.“</p>
<p>“Thank you, Molly,” Beau said, looking down at the purple Tiefling who had grabbed hold of her heart. “For everything. We owe you.”</p>
<p>“Just invite me down to your seaside manor sometime and we can call it even,” Mollymauk grinned, patting Beau’s knee.</p>
<p>With a final, whispered farewell, Beau and Yasha left Mollymauk to wind his way back to the streets of the Pentamarket. Keeping their horses set at a brisk walk took all of Beau’s self-control. She wanted nothing more than to dig her heels in and take off into the night. The city still buzzed through her veins, as did the lingering fire brought on by Yasha’s kiss. But she held back as the southern gate loomed before them. As Mollymauk had said, the Crownsguard stood on the outside of the open gate, keeping silent sentinel. They scarcely spared them a second glance as the horses trotted out of the city.</p>
<p>It felt anticlimactic for all of Beau’s previous planning – but she forgot about it all as she took in the sprawling landscape before them.</p>
<p>They got about a hundred feet away before Beau exchanged a breathless, giddy grin with Yasha.</p>
<p>“Ready?” Yasha asked, her fingers visibly tightening around the reins of her horse.</p>
<p>“Ready,” Beau breathed.</p>
<p>She kicked her heels into her horse’s side, calling out an adrenaline tremulous, “hiyah!”</p>
<p>The horses took off into the night. The wind pushed Beau’s hood from her face, the air a rushing embrace billowing through her cloak. Her horse’s hooves pounded with a rhythmic thud against the earth, reverberating through Beau’s bones. It sounded like freedom and felt like flying. The buzz was still pulsing through her, but it was different now. Yasha’s distinct humming presence still lingered beneath her skin, but Zadash’s buzz was gone. This new feeling was a thrum, a steady rhythm she could only compare to the heartbeat of Exandria, welcoming her. <em>This</em> truly felt like magic.</p>
<p>Yasha’s delighted laughter reached Beau’s ears over the rushing wind. Beau tipped her head back, closing her eyes as she breathed in deeply.</p>
<p>The rest of her life lay ahead.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. like you'll never get a second chance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 15: a fierce kiss that ends with a bite on the lip, soothing it with a lick.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>my brain is mush and it took me w a y too long to write this. i also altered the prompt slightly to fit my perception. enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Caleb alerted Yasha the moment he sensed his Polymorph spell drop. A quick tap to her arm and a gesture over her shoulder had the Aasimar doubling back without question.</p>
<p>They had fled from the Tomb Takers, only looking back to make sure their entire party was present. They had apparently gone far enough, long enough, that Caleb’s spell on Beau wore off, the mammoth fading in a blink of the eye trick. Beau and Fjord tumbled into the snow with muffled impact and groans of pain, lost under the howl of the wind. As Yasha approached, she scarcely made out Fjord stumbling to his feet and hauling Beau upright.</p>
<p>Caleb messaged Veth and Jester, telling them to double back so they could all be together. Jester’s spell wore off minutes earlier, her owl dropping both her and Caduceus into the snow where Veth was making headway. The trio messaged back that they would trudge their way to the party on foot.</p>
<p>As Yasha plowed through the snow toward Beau and Fjord, her thoughts wandered.</p>
<p>Yasha had seen and done a lot of morbid things in her time. If she were made to guess about her missing time, she figured it was mostly numerous heinous acts better left forgotten. Part of her was grateful she didn’t have access to those memories.</p>
<p>For the ones she could remember, though…those lingered with stubborn tenacity. She had braced her foot between Obann’s shoulders and torn his wings off with her bare hands - unrepentant. Yasha had tied a dead body to a belaying pin and left it hanging over the edge of their ship. She had impaled a creature and dragged its body further down her blade, just for the sick satisfaction of it all. So Yasha was no stranger to blood and gore and brutality - they were more like worn memories, cassette tapes precariously maintaining their reels after too many turns.</p>
<p>But seeing Beau, leaning heavily against Fjord’s shoulder, face streaked with blood from places that should never bleed, smarted like a raw wound. Through the snow and dim grey of her dark vision, Beau looked absolutely ragged. Yasha dreaded when they might find a source of light. She knew without a doubt that Beau would only look worse - would only serve as a more harsh reminder of how close they came to losing her to Lucien.</p>
<p>Her fingers tightened around Caleb in her arms, aching with a burn to hold on to Beau’s waist instead. She longed to tuck the monk against her side, wrap her up and keep her safe from harm. Yasha had already failed on that front once with Caleb and Beau in the past day - and now again with Beau. Each failure felt like a yawning chasm in Yasha’s chest she was scrambling to figure out how she might fill.</p>
<p>Caleb tapped her arm again when they were almost to Beau and Fjord, drawing her attention down to the wizard.</p>
<p>“I am okay,” he reassured Yasha shakily. There was a knowing glint to his eyes. “Go to her.”</p>
<p>Yasha hesitated for only the briefest of moments, arms tightening around her companion. As much as she wanted to go to Beau, she cared about Caleb and wanted to make sure he was safe, too. But he gave her a quiet look, and Yasha trusted him.</p>
<p>Setting Caleb down on his feet in the snow, lingering to make sure he had his balance, Yasha’s gaze then latched onto Beau. She couldn’t have held back her feet any longer, even if she tried. She did not move as quickly as she would have liked through the ice, but her long legs aided her trek.</p>
<p>Fjord spotted her coming, looking up from where Beau’s head leaned against his shoulder. The half-Orc ducked down to mutter something to Beau, prompting her to lift her head the moment before Yasha pulled her from Fjord. She swept Beau up into a hug, an arm around her waist and a hand at the base of Beau’s neck. Her fingers fit with easy warmth against the curve of Beau’s waist, the way Yasha knew they would. Yasha’s breath gusted from her chest in a tremulous exhalation of relief, leaving her dizzy.</p>
<p>The chasm in her chest shrank.</p>
<p>“Yasha?” Beau’s exhausted question was muffled against the fur of her cloak, but wiry arms wrapped around Yasha, reassuring. The monk’s limbs shook where they wreathed around the Aasimar’s torso, whether tremors of relief, terror, or faded adrenaline, Yasha couldn’t tell. All that mattered was the press of Beau’s weight - solid, warm, <em>alive</em> - in the secure circle of Yasha’s embrace.</p>
<p>She pulled back enough to examine Beau’s face, her hand sliding from Beau’s neck to cup her cheek. The pad of her thumb brushed against the frozen trail of blood leaking from Beau’s eye. The track from her ear was a stinging, icy burn against the palm of Yasha’s hand. This close to the monk, Yasha saw that some blood vessels in Beau’s eye had burst, tinging the sclera red at the corners. The hollow spaces between the chapped skin on Beau’s lips had filled in and frozen over with blood. It left a crimson crackle pattern over the monk’s mouth, haunting and mesmerizing all at once.</p>
<p>Yasha swallowed her rage with force.</p>
<p>They almost lost her. <em>She</em> almost lost Beau. <em>Twice</em>.</p>
<p>
  <em>Don’t think that you have more time, necessarily, than you might have.</em>
</p>
<p>They all saw Fjord and Jester earlier. No one had freaked out - Veth had merely been excited and confused. This was their family, and Yasha was tired of waiting for the “right moment”.</p>
<p>“Beau,” Yasha murmured just loud enough to be heard over the wind. The monk’s eyes were already on her, but Yasha felt the intention behind that look strengthen when she called Beau’s name. Looking into her eyes like this, she could almost ignore the harrowing blood trails and stained sclera.</p>
<p>“May I kiss you?”</p>
<p>Beau blinked, her mouth opening and closing a few times as her cheeks abruptly colored pink. Yasha’s heart pulled with fondness.</p>
<p>“Please,” Beau squeaked after a moment, her frozen fingers curling into Yasha’s cloak.</p>
<p>Yasha wasted no time surging forward, sealing her lips against Beau’s with fierce intention. If this god awful frozen wasteland had taught her anything in the past days, it was that every moment counted. Something might come and rip them apart whenever - no matter how secure they thought they were. Yasha was done biding her time, because the Storm Lord knew how much they had left.</p>
<p>Her lips against Beau’s seared like a blazing brand. Their lips were chapped from the cold - the skin rough and chilled and uncomfortable. Yasha’s teeth knocked against Beau’s at the initial press, making Beau grin against Yasha as she huffed a laughed. Where their frozen lips gave way to the warm curve inside their mouths, the burning contrast of temperature consumed Yasha’s awareness. She chased it with passionate desperation, wanting to remember every piece of this kiss in case it became their first and last.</p>
<p>The frozen trails of blood on Beau’s cheeks thawed under Yasha’s hands as she cupped Beau’s cheeks with tender intent. The icy crackle on Beau’s mouth melted between their teeth, making the kiss taste coppery, metallic. Yasha still trailed every slide of Beau’s lips with her own, ignoring the tang.</p>
<p>When they finally pulled apart, a little breathless, Yasha caught Beau’s bottom lip between her teeth and held on for just a moment, biting just enough to feel it. As Yasha released her hold, Beau made a quiet noise of surprise that would have been lost under the wind if Yasha hadn’t been so close to her. Ducking back in, she left a chaste, brief peck against the lip she had bitten, soothing the sting.</p>
<p>“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time,” Yasha confessed as she pushed her forehead against Beau’s. “I didn’t think I would get to when Lucien grabbed you.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau said, sounding wrecked and exhausted. “Me too.”</p>
<p>“No more wasted time,” Yasha decided, lifting her head so she could cup Beau’s cheeks and look her in the eye. “I’m getting rid of the pin. The second we have a chance, we’re going on that date.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau squeaked, eyes bright and cheeks flushed as she floundered under Yasha’s intense gaze. “Yeah, yep! Okay! Let’s do that!”</p>
<p>Yasha didn’t try to suppress the fond grin that curled at her lips, pulling uncomfortably at the chapped skin now slightly damp from their kiss. Something overly affectionate tugged insistently at her heart, and Yasha reveled in the sensation of it. She was alive, and so was Beau. And they were going to be okay. Yasha would make it so.</p>
<p>Veth’s shrill voice reached them over the howling wind. “What is <em>happening</em> today? You too?”</p>
<p>The ring of Beau’s laughter made Yasha feel like she was flying.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. and breathe you in</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 16: one person pouting, only to have it removed by a kiss from the other person.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm just soft for beauyasha okay? they deserve to be soft. so here is a short, soft thing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She wasn’t entirely certain why she was trying to stay awake anymore. Probably the paranoia, if she had to guess.</p>
<p>The bandage wraps around her left hand seemed too thin a barrier to shield the crimson eye etched beneath her knuckles. She wondered if it peered through them, if others saw through to the reminder of her hubris. Every droop of her eyelids was a second of knowledge lost. Beau’s notes were unreliable, so she had to trust her memory, her awareness. If she fell asleep now, the Tomb Takers might come. If she fell asleep now, the Somnovum might seize the chance offered.</p>
<p>Sleep burned with the danger of fingers too close to flame.</p>
<p>But gods, her limbs ached. The clerics’ healing energy only removed the threat of a wound, but did nothing for soreness. Beau’s muscles twitched and pulled like they still nursed injuries, like they expected to bleed at any moment. Her heartbeat was a pounding ache in her temples, and she felt shaky with exhaustion. Beau wanted nothing more than to slip into the pleasant embrace of unconsciousness.</p>
<p>Her eyes drooped again, chin dipping toward her chest as her head bobbed. Snapping her lids open, gaze darting around the interior of the bubble, Beau took hazy stock of her family.</p>
<p>On the furthest side of the dome, Fjord lay stretched out like a barrier, mouth parted slightly as he slept. Curled up beside him was Veth, dagger sheathed at her hip and crossbow within reach. Next to her, in the middle out of habit, slept Caleb. Beau didn’t know how he could sleep when the Somnovum hung like a lingering storm cloud over their heads. But she sat near enough to see his chest rise and fall in even breaths, curled on his side just so toward Veth. Spread out long at everyone’s feet snored Caduceus, head pillowed on his pack as his ankles knocked against Fjord’s.</p>
<p>Jester had claimed her spot stretched out parallel to Caduceus, near everyone’s heads. But she sat upright now, yawning as she pulled her fingers absently through Fjord’s hair. Her tired eyes roamed the mountain outside the bubble, keeping watch.</p>
<p>Beside Beau sat Yasha, alert. The two of them hadn’t bothered to unpack their sleeping arrangements - for different reasons.</p>
<p>Yasha kept silent sentinel, mismatched eyes roaming over the occupants of the dome and then over Jester’s shoulder in turns. There was no need for Beau to be awake with two sets of eyes on guard. She had taken previous watch, anyway, so she was more than clear to drift off. Yasha and Jester weren’t even whispering conversation, everyone too on edge to think of anything other than when their pursuers might appear. There was no noise to keep Beau awake.</p>
<p>It was just...difficult to convince herself she could relax enough to sleep.</p>
<p>She yawned again, eyes squeezing shut and watering with the force of her jaw-cracking exhaustion. Her head dipped again, subconsciously tipping sideways to drop against Yasha’s shoulder. Defenses down, Beau didn’t pull away when she registered the soft, warm material of Yasha’s coat against her cheek.</p>
<p>Instead, she nuzzled in closer.</p>
<p>The burden of holding her head upright alleviated from her aching neck muscles, exhaustion’s claws sunk with heavy intent into the weight behind Beau’s eyes. Her anxieties subsided as she breathed in deep, Yasha’s warm presence chasing away every worry that kept Beau conscious. The coat under Beau’s cheek clung with the scents of the cold and <em>Yasha</em>. It was like Eiselcross’ icy magic had taken hold of Yasha’s usual musk and whirled it up into a mingling waltz. She smelled like the cusp of lightning and a grey sky before snow; like freshly turned soil in a garden after rain and winter wind straight to the face.</p>
<p>Beau thought she would want for nothing else if she might capture and bottle this scent for herself. She would be content, so long as Beau could cling to the promise of Yasha every day.</p>
<p>Yasha’s hand patting gently at Beau’s face stirred the monk from her conscious slumber. Blinking herself back to a more active sense of awareness, Beau did not lift her head from Yasha’s shoulder. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the Aasimar and pouted at the disturbance, eyes squinting sleepily and brow furrowed.</p>
<p>The endeared expression on Yasha’s face melted further into fondness. She turned, the arm that Beau pressed against slipping around behind the monk to keep her steady and upright without removing her head from Yasha’s shoulder. Yasha ducked closer, Beau’s sleepy countenance registering everything in half speed.</p>
<p>She only understood the tender, chapped press of Yasha’s lips against her pouting mouth after Yasha pulled back from the quick peck. The pout faded as surprised affection flooded through Beau’s sore limbs. Her mouth parted slightly as she looked up at Yasha, blinking against the gritty tiredness smudged into her eyelashes.</p>
<p>She thought she saw Jester’s eyes sparkling above the hand she had clasped over her mouth across the dome out of the corner of her eye.</p>
<p>“You should lie down,” Yasha murmured, cheeks pink in the dim light from Caduceus’ staff and Yasha’s light spell. “You’ll be more comfortable.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Beau managed after a moment of stunned inertia. “Okay.”</p>
<p>With Yasha’s gentle hands aiding her descent, Beau curled up on her side, head pillowed in Yasha’s lap. She voiced no protest when Yasha unwound Beau’s braided updo, fingers deft and delicate against battle and wind induced knots. She expected Yasha to pull away when the task was complete. Instead, she continued to massage her fingers against Beau’s scalp and pull her digits through Beau’s long, probably far too dirty hair. Beau wondered idly, as she drifted, if Yasha was merely copying Jester’s actions. Either way, Beau appreciated her soothing ministrations.</p>
<p>It seemed as if Yasha’s calloused hands chased and warded off every plaguing thought from Beau’s mind. The monk drifted beneath the reassuring blanket of slumber with far more ease than before.</p>
<p>And if she sat up, half asleep, the next morning to let Yasha re-do her hair as the rest of the party cast them knowing, giddy looks. Well, that was none of their business.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. hands and tears and bedsheet fears</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 17: tucking their hands beneath the other person’s shirt, just to watch them break the kiss and gasp in surprise at the sensation of cold/warm hands on their skin.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>g OD it's been a minute!!! my muse completely left me and everything i tried to write felt like agony. but we're back and i know this isn't my greatest work but i'm just proud and happy i can write again. enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yasha wasn’t sure why she was leading the way to Beau’s room, but it felt right. Beau was so clearly eager to keep going, to lie in bed with Yasha and find infinity. But there also remained a quiet hesitance to everything Beau said and did around her.</p>
<p>Especially tonight.</p>
<p>Yasha knew Beau didn’t want to push her too far too fast—which was sweet—but Yasha was in the mood to be a little dangerous. She was in the mood to press Beau into the mattress with her body weight alone, to taste the salt on Beau’s skin, to chase the pleasure of her tongue. Call her reckless, but Yasha sometimes did better that way.</p>
<p>Besides, they had the whole tower to themselves. Yasha figured they could afford to be a little stupid for one night.</p>
<p>She turned to glance over her shoulder at Beau, a giddy grin tugging the corners of her lips upward. Beau looked somehow soft and wild all at once, her visage sending a shock of thrill through Yasha’s veins. There was a flush high on Beau’s cheekbones, her bright blue eyes glinting with unshielded desire. But Beau was also drowning in Yasha’s tunic, her bare legs only visible from just above her kneecaps down. Her hair fell loose and damp, leaving dark patches of water against Yasha’s shirt.</p>
<p>Yasha squeezed Beau’s hand where their fingers wove together, chest full of indescribable emotion.</p>
<p>They pushed open the door to Beau’s room at long last, Yasha tossing aside the bundle of their mismatched clothing. Beau barely stepped through the door before Yasha had her pushed up against it.</p>
<p>Without hesitation, Yasha’s lips pressed against Beau’s, kissing her with the same fervor as before. Months of repressed feelings and desires that she had attempted to funnel through stunted conversation and longing glances poured out of Yasha. Her lips were the floodgates and Beau’s the receiving river.</p>
<p>Yasha eventually came up for air, forehead pressed to Beau’s as they gasped in each other’s space.</p>
<p>“Bed?” Yasha asked, breathless.</p>
<p>“Bed. Definitely,” Beau agreed, giddy and hoarse.</p>
<p>Yasha laughed, soft and clear, as she ducked in to seal her lips against Beau’s neck. A low noise of pleasure slipped past Beau’s lips as her fingers sunk into Yasha’s messy, damp hair. Fingernails scraped lightly at Yasha’s scalp and she doubled her efforts, hands moving to hold the underside of Beau’s thighs. She straightened up, bringing Beau with her. Beau yelped at the sudden shift before hooking her ankles together around Yasha’s waist and leaning her weight into Yasha’s mouth so she didn’t fall backward.</p>
<p>Yasha turned and carried Beau further into the room, humming her approval against Beau’s carotid she had captured between her teeth.</p>
<p>Her bare feet against the cool stone of the bedroom floor echoed dimly against Beau’s quiet sounds of approval. The fabric of Yasha’s tunic clung almost uncomfortably between their damp and sweaty chests, the only barrier to them being skin to skin. But Yasha found she didn’t mind so much since Beau was wearing <em>her</em> shirt.</p>
<p>Yasha’s knees eventually knocked against the edge of Beau’s bed. She took a moment to firm up her grip on Beau’s thighs before tipping them both onto the mattress. Beau’s breath huffed from her upon impact, dissolving into a moan when the jarring motion caused Yasha to bite at the spot on Beau’s neck she had been attending to. Her fingers tugged at Yasha’s hair with unsteady desire—an encouragement.</p>
<p>Yasha kept at her task of pressing the most obvious hickey into Beau’s neck for another handful of moments before pulling away. She deemed her work satisfactory and grinned down at Beau’s flushed countenance, inordinately pleased with herself. The color in Beau’s cheeks and the dazed but excited light in her eyes gave Yasha all the reassurance she needed. Teasing her fingers against the hem of the tunic, she pushed the garment up and off Beau’s chest.</p>
<p>Beau’s hands moved faster, circling Yasha’s wrists with gentle pressure, but enough to halt the movement.</p>
<p>“Wait,” Beau’s hoarse voice stopped Yasha.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Yasha’s instinct was to fret, to worry that she had made a mistake. The hesitation that had so quickly overcome Beau’s expression left a terrifying chill that settled like a rock in Yasha’s gut.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I just…” Beau rolled her head to the side as she looked away. Her hair—loose and damp—splayed out on the pillow like a halo, her skin still glowing with a light shine from the hot tub. For all that Yasha bore the blood of angelic ancestry, Beau was a celestial vision. (Perhaps her bias was glaringly obvious, but what did that matter when your lives were at risk in a frozen wasteland?)</p>
<p>Yasha slid careful fingers against the sharp line of Beau’s jaw and cupped her cheek, drawing Beau’s attention back to her. All the confidence and bravado that Beau usually wore was absent; left in its place sat everything tender and vulnerable that she kept secret and safe behind the innumerable walls of her daily facade. Yasha knew it was an honor to be privy to Beau’s honesty, one she refused to take for granted.</p>
<p>“What is it, Beau?” Yasha murmured. “Talk to me.”</p>
<p>“This date has been…incredible,” Beau whispered after a moment, tone awed as much as it was hesitant. “And I know this is what others might think is the natural conclusion to a date they have a good time on. But I don’t…want you to think this is an expectation. I meant what I said earlier about no expectations, no matter what we confessed earlier.”</p>
<p>Yasha blinked down at Beau, stunned. They truly must be the biggest fools in all of Exandria. She could see it all now, in hindsight. The glances, the lingering touches, the blatant concern for each other piled and slid between healing hands and violent acts of protection. They had been pining after one another for months. The tension reached a breaking point ages ago, but they somehow stalled the shattering until now. And here Beau was, keeping their fragile composure held together with her bare hands. The jagged edges digging into her palms from the desire to transform into something new, but held back just in case.</p>
<p>All for Yasha’s sake.</p>
<p>Beau seemed to take Yasha’s stunned silence as some kind of confirmation because she started babbling reassurances.</p>
<p>“I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to do this if you want to, but I don’t want you doing it because you think I expect it. And if you don’t want to, we can stop here. We can go to sleep. We also don’t even have to sleep in the same bed—or even the same room. Hell, we can sleep on different sides of the tower if that would make you feel more secure. I mean—”</p>
<p>Yasha scooped her hands beneath Beau’s back and lifted her up, holding her close as she turned to sit on the edge of the bed. Beau’s legs straddled Yasha’s, her knees either side of Yasha’s hips. The movement silenced Beau, her lips clamped shut, eyes upset and guarded all at once as her fingers clung to the damp skin of Yasha’s shoulders. She looked down at Yasha before her gaze flicked to the side, looking almost ashamed.</p>
<p>“Beau,” Yasha murmured, her hands settled on Beau’s hips. “I want this. To be specific, I want this with <em>you</em>. There is no more hesitation on my end—I am all in. But if you don’t feel the same, that’s okay. I meant it too when I said no expectations.”</p>
<p>Beau seemed to deflate under Yasha’s hands, breath gusting out of her chest with a mighty exhale.</p>
<p>“I know that, and I want this, but—” Beau looked a little reluctant here, but she pushed on, gesturing to the bed over Yasha’s shoulder. “I’ve done this part before—quite often—and I know you’re aware that. There is the logical part of me that knows that you understand you aren’t just another one-night stand to feel something. But the other part of me is terrified of the morning.”</p>
<p>The pieces fell into place for Yasha. She firmed up her hold on Beau’s hips in response. Yasha leaned in, pressed her forehead to Beau’s jaw, and left a chaste kiss against her neck.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, Beau,” Yasha murmured with her lips against Beau’s neck. “I’m here. I’m staying.”</p>
<p>She thought she said the wrong thing when Beau choked on a sob above her. But before Yasha could pull back or say anything else, Beau wrapped her arms around Yasha’s shoulders and hugged her fiercely.</p>
<p>Yasha wound her arms around Beau’s waist and held her, let her cry into Yasha’s hair for as long as she needed. At some point, Yasha started rubbing a hand up and down Beau’s back over the tunic in soothing, even strokes. She kept up a steady litany of reassuring murmurs, hoping Beau would understand.</p>
<p>Yasha would not so easily leave again, not if she could help it.</p>
<p>Eventually, Beau’s tears subsided and Yasha got her to pull away so that she could thumb away the tears from Beau’s cheeks. Beau sniffled softly and murmured an apology that Yasha immediately dismissed.</p>
<p>“You do not have to apologize, Beau,” Yasha said as she brushed away another stray tear. “I want every part of you that you are willing to share with me. And that includes this.”</p>
<p>Beau looked like she might cry again, but there was also something lighter to the sheen in her eyes Yasha hadn’t seen before.</p>
<p>“I would like to kiss you again,” Yasha confessed as she continued to hold Beau’s face between her palms. “But only if that is okay with you.”</p>
<p>For all that she looked a mess and her voice croaked from crying, Beau’s answer was eager and immediate.</p>
<p>“Please. Please kiss me.”</p>
<p>They met in the middle, Yasha tipping her head to one side and Beau the other. It was easy and gentle, unassuming. They were content to linger on the other’s lips for as long as they both needed.</p>
<p>Yasha provided the inertia, however, when she moved her hands. Her fingers had gone a little numb where they rested against Beau’s hips. She slid her hands up Beau’s back, just to get her limbs moving, and her hands caught under the hem of the now dry tunic. The pads of her calloused fingers were a warm contrast against the small of Beau’s back, a comfortable heat.</p>
<p>Beau gasped into Yasha’s mouth at the touch, back arching slightly and fingers tightening on Yasha’s shoulders.</p>
<p>Yasha grinned up at Beau’s flushed face, amused and endeared. Perhaps a little reckless again as she put more pressure through her hands to Beau’s back.</p>
<p>Beau would never admit to pouting in that moment, but her lower lip stuck out as Yasha teased her gently.</p>
<p>The tunic didn’t stay on much longer.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. between the flashes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>prompt 18: teasing kisses where one person blows air into the other’s mouth and runs away.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello my children please accept this cheesy little modern au of a chapter that is all</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beau was <em>always</em> restless.</p>
<p>In elementary school, her teachers gave her one of those rubber wiggle cushions to sit on, just to keep her in her seat. Her parents let her partake in multiple after-school sports because it meant she would come home already worn out. They wouldn’t have to deal with her energy, and it looked good on college applications later down the line. She had a borderline obscene collection of fidget toys to her name and too many hobbies that she picked up and abandoned when they bored her.</p>
<p>Her friend Caleb from college often commented that he thought her natural state of existence was pure movement.</p>
<p>So how she ended up working part time as a model was beyond Beau. The journey from point A to B became muddled, but it likely began with Beau picking it up as a hobby and then forgetting to put it down again.</p>
<p>Granted, modeling was not a static thing. It involved constantly changing poses, making minute adjustments according to direction or impulse, and sometimes even changing or manipulating outfits. Sitting for hair and makeup was a torturous experience, so Beau had of course learned how to do it on her own. At least it kept her hands in motion.</p>
<p>Whenever she got to do dynamic shoots, Beau remembered why she stuck with modeling this long. They included everything she loved about the gig. Sometimes she got to travel, most of them were outside, and they often involved skills she had picked up from all of those sports she used to partake in.</p>
<p>“Beau,” Yasha called from behind the camera, sounding fondly exasperated. “I know you want to get outside, but you have to hold still for this photo.”</p>
<p>Yasha was an up-and-coming photographer that <em>The Rexxentrum Times</em> had described as “a photographer with a stunningly robust portfolio capturing everything from the playful mundane to the shockingly vulnerable”. She was also, more importantly, Beau’s girlfriend.</p>
<p>To most everyone’s surprise, it was Yasha who had approached Beau first, asking with her trademark quiet hesitance if Beau would model for a shoot. At the time Yasha asked, she was fresh out of college and Beau was two years in and changing her major. She had volunteered to model for an art class that Yasha had been in before her graduation. Apparently she’d made an impression.</p>
<p>The impulsive part of Beau told Yasha yes simply because she found Yasha attractive. The intelligent part of Beau bolstered the continuation of their business partnership after seeing the products of that first shoot.</p>
<p>Falling in love between the flashes had been an inevitable and welcome consequence.</p>
<p>“But babe,” Beau whined, adjusting her pose per Yasha’s patient direction. “I need to run around.”</p>
<p>“We’re almost done, Beau,” Yasha chuckled as she adjusted the light off to the side. “Then I’ll set you loose in a field in an outfit you can get as dirty as you’d like.”</p>
<p>“Fuck yes!” Beau cheered, settling into the nuances of her pose when Yasha stepped back behind the camera. A few snaps and quiet instructions later, Yasha straightened up, clicking through the photos on her display and smiling. It was that tiny, secret and pleased little spread of Yasha’s lips accompanied by an uptick at the corner of her mouth. Beau learned it was an unconscious reaction to her own work when she analyzed the satisfying, finer details.</p>
<p>Eager to see the raw photos, Beau bounded over and draped herself over Yasha’s back, arms flopping over her shoulders.</p>
<p>The concept for Yasha’s latest round of photos centered on flowers - their meaning, depiction, stereotypes and misconceptions. There was some implication among the stills about the flowers being the person, but art had always been beyond Beau. She could appreciate it, sure; all that deeper meaning stuff she would rather listen to Yasha wax poetic about than figure it out herself.</p>
<p>But this photo, this last pose, Beau needed no explanation. Despite being the one in the photo, she hardly recognized herself, feeling breathless.</p>
<p>Beau was in dark red cigarette pants and a deep crimson top. The sleeveless illusion neckline that fastened with a high collar around Beau’s neck offset the fitted sweetheart bodice. There were fake rubies in her ears, her features accentuated by the red eyeshadow on her lids, and the deepest red matte lipstick Beau owned. Yasha had her barefoot and sprawled sideways on an antique chaise lounge, leaning against the raised end with her cheek against her arm. Her hair hung loose, barely styled more than brushing out the waves and crimps from having her hair up in a bun most of the day. It hung over the arm of the lounge, long and dark.</p>
<p>In one hand, dangling toward the floor, Beau held a fistful of red rose petals, more scattered over the floor and the chaise. Between her teeth, she bit down on the blunt stem of a red rose in bloom, making it seem as if the flower was growing from her tongue.</p>
<p>Yasha had told her to go for something like desire with her expression. Everything about the setup of this photo seemed to expect some derivative of sexual interpretation. But Yasha wanted to take that capitalistic view point and have Beau model love - unadulterated affection.</p>
<p>The pose and staging were not what took Beau’s breath away, not the make-up or the flowers, the clothes or the composure. It was her own godsdamned eyes.</p>
<p>She looked right at the camera, but her focus seemed fixated past the lense. The skin around the corners of her eyes was smooth, her brow relaxed. There was a light in her irises, deep and yet affectionate. It softened the rough edges of how Beau presented herself as a model, as a person, and transformed her into love.</p>
<p>Without a doubt, she was looking at Yasha.</p>
<p>“This is beautiful, Beau,” Yasha said, sounding awed. “You look perfect.”</p>
<p>“All thanks to you,” Beau replied, both genuine and attempting to duck praise she still struggled to accept.</p>
<p>Yasha, ever attuned to each of Beau’s fluctuating frequencies, beamed at her. They leaned in together to observe the display, shoulder to shoulder.</p>
<p>“I assume you’re ready to go run in a field now, right?” Yasha was clearly trying to sound cheeky. Her tone, however, was a little too breathy, eyes far too distracted by Beau’s dark red lips to succeed.</p>
<p>“Absolutely,” Beau murmured. It was hard to miss how close their noses were to brushing.</p>
<p>Yasha hummed in response, leaning a little further toward Beau.</p>
<p>Suddenly, this all seemed like a <em>lot</em>.</p>
<p>Beau loved Yasha - in a whole and all-encompassing way. But it wasn’t something she just <em>said</em> every day. It was a gentle, ever present simmer of a thing. Love lived in her chest and made itself known in minuscule ways. She felt it like a tingle in her fingertips when she and Yasha traded coffee creamer and jam jars as they made breakfast. Love shaped her smile in a million different degrees whenever Yasha did something extremely...Yasha. It released her most honest form of laughter late at night when it was just the two of them and a bottle of wine.</p>
<p>Love appeared as wildflowers picked on a whim - not intentional roses. It lingered like Yasha’s favorite band t-shirt from high school Beau now had as part of her own wardrobe - not slimming pants and sexy shirts.</p>
<p>And while their first kiss had been the product of a dramatic build-up of emotion and pining, this was not them now. She trusted Yasha, but this unexpected snapshot of vulnerability destabilized Beau and found her unprepared for the aftershocks.</p>
<p>Beau was impulsive when overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Yasha leaned in for a kiss, lips parted just so, eyes closed, a breath away. Beau puckered her lips and blew a quick burst of air right against Yasha’s mouth.</p>
<p>Yasha pulled back sharply, blinking in surprise as she stared down at Beau. Unable to help it, Beau laughed at the expression on Yasha’s face, who was quick to recover, more than used to Beau’s antics. Grinning, she made a grab for Beau, who danced out of Yasha’s reach, laughing louder as she squealed and darted around the studio.</p>
<p>Beau moved fast, but Yasha was right on her heels and had strength and impressive reach working for her. It didn’t take long for her to catch Beau by the waist, twirling her around in a back hug. She used their position to her advantage, peppering quick, tickling kisses over Beau’s shoulders and neck. Beau squirmed and giggled, trying to either wriggle to freedom or twist around in Yasha’s arms so that she could fight back with kisses of her own. Eventually, breathless, Beau gave up and let Yasha hold her, both drunk off of laughter as Yasha put her down.</p>
<p>Twisting around once her feet met the floor, Beau looked up at Yasha, cheeks aching with her grin. There was nothing but absolute adoration shaping Yasha’s expression as she brushed Beau’s hair back from her face. Something vulnerable gave a mild twist beneath Beau’s ribs, but she didn’t pull away or stop smiling.</p>
<p>She trusted Yasha. Now that Beau had her balance, her feet stable beneath her, it became easier to face everything.</p>
<p>Yasha leaned in and kissed Beau’s brow with gentle attention. Beau clung to Yasha’s wrist where she cradled Beau’s cheek.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Beau whispered - for what, even she didn’t know. But Yasha seemed to understand.</p>
<p>“Now,” Yasha said, pulling back with a grin. “Ready to go outside?”</p>
<p>“Hell yeah!” Beau cheered, darting off to gather her next outfit and make-up wipes.</p>
<p>She might not always have the wherewithal to put her emotions into words, but she had Yasha. That was more than enough.</p>
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